Bank of America

March 14, 2018 | President Trump nixed Rex Tillerson as secretary of state Tuesday in favor of CIA Director Mike Pompeo, a former Kansas congressman whose political career was paved by Koch Industries.

March 14, 2018 | President Trump's inauguration was not only a bonanza for special interests and high-dollar event planners, it was also a chance for wealthy donors and government contractors to show support for the new administration -- and do so in secret, if they choose.

February 20, 2018 | Twenty-seven new donors broke onto the scene last year by giving at least $100,000 to political causes after contributing no more than $20,000 from 1989 to 2016. It’s an eclectic group to say the least.

January 18, 2018 | President Donald Trump’s inauguration broke records – not in turnout, but in inaugural donations. The Center for Responsive Politics assessed Trump’s relationships with his top donors one year later.

November 21, 2017 | When a small nonprofit called the Judicial Crisis Network poured millions into a campaign to stop the Senate from confirming Barack Obama’s Supreme Court pick last year, and then spent millions more supporting President Donald Trump’s choice for the same seat, political observers assumed conservatives from around the country were showering the group with donations.

November 15, 2017 | In April, one of the Democratic Republic of the Congo’s most powerful opposition leaders requested Secretary Rex Tillerson’s support for his return from exile in a letter sent through a prominent Washington lobbying firm. Akin Gump Strauss Hauer & Feld submitted the letter on behalf of Moise Katumbi, the leading opposition candidate in the Congo’s…

November 2, 2017 | One of the most expensive elections this year has been the ongoing Alabama Senate special election. The GOP runoff saw two candidates, Roy Moore and interim senator Luther Strange, run head to head. Their differing sources of support — Moore’s grassroots, rural base plus the backing of a few key billionaires, in contrast with the…

October 18, 2017 | Designers are renowned for their bold political statements – from Tommy Hilfiger’s use of white bandanas on the runway last year to fashion designer Tracy Reese’s advocacy for Planned Parenthood. However, many clothing brands and manufacturers choose a more subtle route by speaking with their wallets. During the 2016 election cycle, the clothing manufacturing industry…

September 21, 2017 | Alabama’s special election embodies what political analysts claim is a deepening rift between the GOP’s establishment and anti-establishment factions. Money has flooded the campaigns in Tuesday’s Republican primary runoff, as former Alabama Supreme Court Chief Justice Roy Moore maintains an apparent lead over interim Sen. Luther Strange. Strange, who was appointed by former Alabama Gov.…

July 19, 2017 | Testimony by Sheila Krumholz, Executive Director of the Center for Responsive Politics before the Senate Democratic Policy And Communications Committee July 19, 2017 Chairwoman Stabenow, Senator Whitehouse and other Senators: Thank you for this opportunity to submit testimony for today’s hearing regarding politically active nondisclosing nonprofits (“dark money organizations”) and the possibility of foreign…

July 7, 2017 | In May, at a conference for investors in New York, venture capitalist Chamath Palihapitiya raised eyebrows by calling Amazon a “multi-trillion dollar monopoly hiding in plain sight.” Amazon’s current market cap is $461 billion; getting to a market cap of $3 trillion, as Palihapitiya suggested it would, will require a nearly seven-fold increase in value. Just…

June 23, 2017 | It’s been a remarkably tough year for the retail sector. So far in 2017, retailers have set a record pace for bankruptcies and store closings. Household names are faring no better than small shops: J.C. Penney said it would shutter 138 locations in July; Macy’s expects 68 locations to close this year; and Sears Holdings will turn off the…

June 15, 2017 | There isn’t much that fathers wouldn’t do for their kids, especially in politics. Take this famous quote from former President John F. Kennedy: “I just received the following wire from my generous Daddy; ‘Dear Jack, Don’t buy a single vote more than is necessary. I’ll be damned if I’m going to pay for a landslide.'”…

June 1, 2017 | Remember when we told you super PACs are already gearing up for 2018, and even in some cases 2020? Looks like a potential challenger to President Donald Trump is also stocking a warchest more than three years in advance: former Vice President Joe Biden. “[T]he negativity, the pettiness, the small-mindedness of our politics today drives…

May 4, 2017 | For someone who repeatedly berated Wall Street during his campaign, President Trump received a lot of inauguration help from its inhabitants. The securities and investment industry contributed the greatest chunk to Trump’s inaugural festivities, $14.3 million, or about 13 percent of all donations. To compare, Obama received $4.6 million from Wall Street in 2009 and $3…

May 2, 2017 | Outside groups mobilizing in support of President Trump have already spent tens of millions on his behalf—and may never have to reveal where they got the money. Trump’s unprecedented move to register as a candidate for the 2020 presidential election on his first day in office blurs the line between groups spending in support of…

April 28, 2017 | While you’re not seeing much in terms of cheesy outside group ads in South Carolina’s special election, there’s no shortage of unique messaging going on in the race. Turn on the TV and you can catch one of candidate Sheri Few’s ads, in which she’s holding an AR-15 and condemning lawmakers from removing Confederate flags and…

April 24, 2017 | Note: Since some lobbyists file after the quarterly deadline, visit our lobbying summary for the most current data. Before President Trump was sworn in, his rhetoric and treatment of lobbyists seemed pretty harsh. He announced lobbyists would be kicked off the transition team and registered lobbyists couldn’t work in his administration, and some lobbyists deregistered to…

April 19, 2017 | What does it take to stage a welcome-to-the-neighborhood blowout? President Trump raised $107 million for his inaugural festivities, shattering previous records. The former titleholder, Barack Obama, raised half that, $53.2 million, in 2009 — though Obama imposed far stricter limits on amounts and sources of donations. At least 47 people or organizations gave $1 million or…

March 31, 2017 | Know what it feels like to be worth more than 10 digits? These 2,043 people do. Forbes released its 30th annual World’s Billionaires list in March to make us all feel bad about our bank accounts. But what does one do with all that dough? With great wealth comes great potential to help your favorite politicians get elected. Of the…

March 29, 2017 | You thought we wouldn’t have to deal with another federal election for two years after Nov. 8, didn’t you? Sorry. Lawmakers were scooped up shortly after to fill spots in the Trump administration or take high-level state positions, so voters in five states get another run at the polling places. Coming up fast on the…

March 24, 2017 | Moments after President Trump’s January announcement that Neil Gorsuch was his pick to fill the late Justice Antonin Scalia’s Supreme Court seat, a small nonprofit that most Americans have never heard of launched ConfirmGorsuch.com. Complete with a tender video telling how Gorsuch “ran a paper route, shoveled snow, worked the night shift” before becoming a judge, the site…

March 23, 2017 | Each time President Donald Trump adds another Goldman Sachs alum to his administration, it’s tempting to bring up his campaign-trail rhetoric about the investment bank. After all, it seems as though Trump is trying to drain the swamp by forcing it to overflow; last week, he nominated Goldman managing director James Donovan to the post of deputy Treasury…

March 8, 2017 | Sen. Chris Van Hollen‘s (D-Md.) star has been on the rise in the Democratic party: After seven terms in the House, he won a Senate seat last November, and now occupies a much-coveted spot on the Appropriations committee while also chairing the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee, the party’s fundraising arm for its Senate candidates. A knack for…

February 28, 2017 | President Donald Trump wasted little time attending to one of his constituencies: Less than a month after taking office, and surrounded by applauding coal miners and a few friendly members of Congress, he put the knife in an Obama-era regulation barring coal mine waste from being dumped in waterways. And Trump is said to have more…

February 17, 2017 | Mike Dubke is no stranger to the value of a good communications strategy: He’s provided advice, through his Crossroads Media firm, to House and Senate candidates, the Republican party and some of the biggest conservative outside spending groups. But his new role, as White House communications director, is an unusually public one for him. Dubke…

February 16, 2017 | President Donald Trump announced Alexander Acosta, the dean of Florida International University College of Law, as his new pick to head the Department of Labor on Thursday. Despite backing from top industry trade groups, Puzder withdrew his nomination Wednesday after it became clear he didn’t have enough GOP support in the Senate. Republicans began breaking away…

January 19, 2017 | Inauguration Day means that it’s political party time in its most festive sense. While the soon-to-be President Donald Trump is only expected to appear at three official inaugural balls, some two dozen others are also planned for the weekend he takes the oath of office. You may get a chance to drink bourbon, “Tip our hats…

January 19, 2017 | This January marked the seventh anniversary of the Supreme Court’s landmark Citizens United v. Federal Election Committee ruling — a decision that has left a deeper footprint with every election cycle. After the 5-4 decision, which freed corporations and unions to make unlimited independent political expenditures, the super PAC was born. And that creature has gone forth…

December 22, 2016 | Boy, has 2016 been a whirlwind adventure. If you’re like us, you have tabs and tabs of unread stories that caught your eye during the workday, but haven’t had time to dive into yet. Now that the holiday break is upon us, we’ll finally have the time to sink into that comfy chair by the…

November 17, 2016 | One of the most active groups in the 2016 cycle wasn’t a super PAC — though those were plenty busy — but a 501(c)(4) social welfare organization, One Nation. From mid-2015 through 2016, the group spent about $40 million in a largely successful push to protect the GOP’s fragile majority in the Senate. And it did…

November 14, 2016 | Update Nov. 30: President-elect Donald Trump selected Steven Mnunchin as his Treasury Secretary. Read on for more information or see summary data on his contributions here. New administration, new Cabinet members. President-elect Donald Trump has already begun picking out his crew, but so far, his two concrete choices did not donate a penny to Trump’s election…

November 10, 2016 | No individual has given to every single congressional and presidential candidate yet, or even every Democratic or Republican candidate. But 2016 marks the first presidential election since the Supreme Court’s decision in McCutcheon v. Federal Election Commission removed caps on a donor’s total campaign giving, and — as expected — a group of wealthy individuals…

October 28, 2016 | Washington thrives on speculation and now, after months of guessing at things like primary contenders and vice presidential picks, it’s time to draft potential cabinets. With no shortage of well-educated guesses on who might lead the various executive departments, certain names crop up more often than others, often officials and bureaucrats with substantial political and policy…

October 25, 2016 | Note: Please see our updated prediction of the cost of the 2016 election. Is 2016 the Year of the Billionaire when it comes to financing the election? There are plenty in the mix. And they’ve helped fuel what is turning out to be the most expensive election ever. The Center for Responsive Politics projects that candidates,…

October 19, 2016 | When the Republican-controlled Congress approved a landmark program in 2003 to help seniors buy prescription drugs, it slapped on an unusual restriction: The federal government was barred from negotiating cheaper prices for those medicines. Instead, the job of holding down costs was outsourced to the insurance companies delivering the subsidized new coverage, known as Medicare…

October 13, 2016 | If you think campaign finance is just a right-wing billionaires’ spending spree, take another look. Liberal money has been pouring into federal elections in recent years. In 2012, when post-Citizen United money started flowing in earnest, wealthy Republicans took the leading roles. The number of individuals making contributions of $1 million or more grew from 16 in 2010…

September 28, 2016 | Talk about disproportional giving: The group organizing the Democratic National Convention in Philadelphia this year raised almost three-fourths of its donations from only 17 sources. The Dems’ host committee raised $69.7 million, with $51.2 million of that coming in from contributions, grants, or in-kind donations worth $1 million or more each. That includes a $10…

September 26, 2016 | Donald Trump has an interesting relationship with Russia, to say the least. He’s praised Vladimir Putin. His former campaign chairman, Paul Manafort, had business dealings with pro-Russia leaders in Ukraine. U.S. intelligence officials are investigating whether one of Trump’s foreign policy advisers met with senior Russia officials to discuss lifting economic sanctions in the event of a…

September 20, 2016 | The last-minute pleas for donations seems to have paid off (literally): The committee organizing the Republican National Convention in Cleveland this year raised $65.7 million, more than was given for each of the previous two powwows: In 2012, the Tampa host committee raised $55.2 million, while 2008’s St. Paul festivities attracted about $61.3 million. The…

August 23, 2016 | The use of private lockups by the federal Bureau of Prisons is coming to an end, but federal lobbying by private prison companies has a deep record. And when the Department of Justice announced last week that it would phase out the use of private prisons, the news came as a blow to but one…

August 22, 2016 | Even as talk in political circles has focused on the Trump campaign’s apparent reliance on the Republican National Committee for much of its basic voter mobilization effort in November, reports filed with the FEC over the weekend show the RNC having arguably the worst fundraising July in at least four presidential cycles. The RNC reported…

August 19, 2016 | Sen. Ron Johnson (R-Wisc.) and his challenger Russ Feingold have raised almost exactly the same amount of money in their race for a Wisconsin Senate seat. But they’ve done so in very different ways. In terms of fundraising, the race is among the tightest in the country, not to mention one of the few where a challenger has raised…

August 9, 2016 | The lobbying industry may start arguing for its own bailout bill, given the relentless decline in reported spending for its services. The first quarter of 2016 was sluggish, the second similarly so. And with it came a pronounced dive in the number of active registered lobbyists. With 325 fewer lobbyists registered in the second quarter of…

July 26, 2016 | Many corporations reportedly decided not to support the Republican National Convention to distance themselves from the GOP nominee. Unfortunately for the Democrats, some have also declined to help bankroll the official festivities in Philadelphia. Walgreens, for instance, was a top player in funding convention host committees, or the entities that help organize the events, in earlier…

July 16, 2016 | Numerous Republican elites are ditching their party’s national convention in Cleveland this year. (And with some pretty lame excuses, too.) Boy, are they missing out. Sure, on what likely will be a fascinating main event, but mostly they’re skipping out on some of the biggest soirées of the season. Special interests, lobbyists, politicians and the media…

July 15, 2016 | Yesterday morning, we published a story saying that Jeffrey Miller, campaign manager of former Texas Gov. Rick Perry’s 2016 presidential campaign and the director of his leadership PAC, received nearly half the money spent by those organizations. Yesterday afternoon, we pulled the story. Miller contacted us about 27 hours after we first tried to reach…

July 13, 2016 | The anticipation is killing us: What name will appear along with Donald Trump‘s on the Republican ticket? The presumptive nominee could announce his VP pick any day now, just in time for the Republican National Convention in Cleveland next week. The Donald is reported to be appearing at a public event with his chosen running mate on Friday, according…

July 13, 2016 | When former Sen. Evan Bayh (D-Ind.) retired from politics at the end of 2010, more than $10 million sat in his campaign account. Now, after five years of work as a partner in a lobbying firm and an adviser for a private equity group, Bayh is mounting a bid to return to the Senate. News that he planned…

July 12, 2016 | In May, Wall Streeters donated more than any other industry to Hillary Clinton’s campaign and pro-Clinton super PACs – nearly $4.45 million out of her total $314 million raised. Retired people and the printing & publishing industry took the Nos. 2 and 3 spots. This news tracks with one of the major critiques of Clinton: that…

June 21, 2016 | Last month, Donald Trump tweeted that his campaign had “perhaps more cash than any campaign in the history of politics.” New Federal Election Commission filings show that he was very, very wrong. At the end of May, Trump’s campaign had nearly $1.3 million in cash on hand, putting him significantly behind Hillary Clinton’s $42 million.…

June 17, 2016 | Mitch McConnell may have been grateful to many for his party’s gains in the 2014 midterms — victories that saw him sworn in as the new majority leader of a GOP-controlled Senate. But somewhere near the top of his “thank you” list should have been those who were running a handful of shadowy groups in North Carolina, Kentucky…

May 21, 2016 | Republican presidential front-runner Donald Trump has repeatedly trashed super PACs and claimed he would run as a candidate who couldn’t be bought. Through the end of April, it looked like no one really wanted to try that anyway. That’s changing quickly. But one of the outside groups that has popped up to advocate for Trump has raised less than $1.1 million —…

May 10, 2016 | When it comes to campaign donations, some parts of the U.S. are more equal than others. Politicians are acutely aware of this, and they travel a well-trodden path in their quest to fill their campaign coffers – Silicon Valley, Manhattan and Washington, D.C., for instance, are reliable candidate ATMs. Here’s another way to look at…

April 21, 2016 | Hedge fund managers know something about when to hold and when to fold. Last month, they did more of the former when it came to political giving, holding steady with their pattern of making uber-contributions to presidential super PACs — even after the favored candidate of some of them dropped out of the race. Wall Street…

April 7, 2016 | As a huge documents leak turns a spotlight on the global tax evasion industry, a Swiss company in hot water for similar activity is responsible for the greatest amount of known foreign-connected money in U.S. elections so far this cycle. News outlets brought together by the Washington, D.C.-based International Consortium of Investigative Journalists this week began…

March 7, 2016 | Last week, real estate mogul and current GOP presidential front-runner Donald Trump tweeted to his 6.6 million Twitter followers about a “phony Rubio commercial” that was making hay out of Trump’s ongoing legal troubles with the now-defuct Trump University. Phony Rubio commercial. I could have settled, but won’t out of principle! See student surveys. https://t.co/KKHiBH554d —…

February 23, 2016 | Rep. David Scott of Georgia may have pulled back the curtain a bit last week on the impact of campaign contributions. During a House hearing entitled “Short-term, Small Dollar Lending: The CFPB’s Assault on Access to Credit and Trampling of State and Tribal Sovereignty,” Scott, a Democrat, joined with Republicans in criticizing the Consumer Financial…

February 21, 2016 | The $103 million raised by Right to Rise USA between January and July 2015 provided the shock. Former Florida Gov. Jeb Bush could just never bring the awe. The Bush super PAC had the resources. It had family loyalist donors who laid out as much as $10 million in contributions and did so as late as October, even after…

February 1, 2016 | Well-known liberal and conservative political donors left the sidelines and injected tens of millions of dollars into the presidential race over the past six months. And once again, it was a tiny group of individuals and businesses who gave a great deal of the money now being deployed in the presidential nomination fights. Reports filed…

January 28, 2016 | When you type “Tim Cook not” into Google, one of the first phrases to pop up is “Tim Cook is not a visionary.” He may be no Steve Jobs, but with the company’s growth slowing, Apple Inc.’s CEO clearly has a vision — one where Apple is a major player in federal lobbying. This week…

January 25, 2016 | The 10 biggest lobbying spenders in Washington laid out less than $300 million in 2015, lobbying records and Center for Responsive Politics data show. Expenditures by the top 10 fell to just under $282 million, down from about $323.7 million the year before. Last year, the top tier included some perennials — the U.S. Chamber of Commerce and National…

January 11, 2016 | He can’t pass a substantive bill in an election year with a Republican Congress, the thinking goes. So President Obama wants to talk above politics in his final State of the Union address Tuesday night. Obama introduced the “big things” theme for his speech last week: “That’s what I want to focus on in this…

January 6, 2016 | Year after year, OpenSecrets.org data shows that Congress is a millionaire’s club. That’s true even though members make “only” $174,000 a year, largely because many of them are wealthy before they’re elected. In fact, salary isn’t the top source of income for a large group of these lawmakers: Their pay is outstripped by the interest…

December 1, 2015 | While more than half of federal lawmakers are millionaires and their combined median net worth shot up 6.7 percent between 2013 and 2014, there’s at least one way in which many members of Congress can understand the plight of millions of Americans: They owe tens of thousands of dollars in student loans. With the astronomical…

November 17, 2015 | A yearly report from the Center for Responsive Politics. Wealth inequality in the United States is pervasive — so much so that it’s apparent even in Congress. The House and Senate have their own form of inequality within their ranks. Of the 534 current members, the 53 richest owned nearly 80 percent of the estimated wealth held by…

October 28, 2015 | Three nonprofit organizations that were tied up in a House Ethics Committee investigation of a 2013 congressional junket to Azerbaijan also sponsored 109 trips to Turkey for members of Congress and their staffers between 2011 and 2014, an OpenSecrets Blog review of congressional ethics filings shows. That included a free trip for the current chair of the Ethics…

October 23, 2015 | With weak polling and lackluster fundraising, Sen. Rand Paul (R-Ky.) is struggling to stay in the 2016 presidential race. So far, some of his strongest financial supporters have come from a new, growing industry: legal marijuana. As of Sept. 30, one of Paul’s biggest contributors is the National Cannabis Industry Association, a D.C.-based trade group that…

October 21, 2015 | The top 10 lobbying spenders in the third quarter of 2015 reported paying lobbyists about $23 million less than the second quarter’s top 10 spenders did, the latest records show. In the second quarter, the top 10 spenders reported nearly $89 million in outlays, compared to almost $66 million between July 1 and Sept. 30…

October 6, 2015 | House Oversight and Government Reform Committee Chairman Jason Chaffetz (R-Utah) may not be the least giving House speaker candidate, but favorite Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.) still dwarfs him in fundraising by $22 million. On Thursday, Republicans will choose among Chaffetz, McCarthy and Rep. Daniel Webster (R-Fla.) to replace Rep. John Boehner (R-Ohio) as leader of the…

September 21, 2015 | As Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker dropped out of the presidential race late Monday afternoon, his announcement created at least an $18 million vacuum. The super PAC backing Walker, Unintimidated PAC, spent $1.8 million on independent expenditures before Walker bowed out. The group had raised $20 million by June 30, with the money coming in from some high-profile Republican…

September 3, 2015 | A year after New York-based real estate company Delos Living committed $250,000 to a signature initiative of Hillary Clinton’s State Department, the Clinton Global Initiative partnered with Delos on a $5 million project to build a “world-class” soccer stadium in earthquake-ravaged Haiti, documents show. Working the players at both ends were two old Clinton hands — Virginia Gov.…

August 17, 2015 | The 2012 election cycle saw the birth of little-known hybrid PACs, also known as Carey committees, which can maintain two separate accounts; one for contributions to federal candidates and parties, and the other for independent expenditures, to which unlimited contributions can be made. The committees, which emerged as a result of the case Carey v. FEC, collectively raised…

July 30, 2015 | Substantial spikes in outlays for lobbying by some of the biggest-spending clients could not keep overall second-quarter numbers from sliding below those of the first three months of the year — and in fact below those of any second quarter since at least 2010, with the exception of 2013. About $802 million was spent on…

July 27, 2015 | Jeb Bush‘s campaign accepted prohibited or excessive contributions totaling $256,873 in the opening weeks of his campaign, including nearly $50,000 from donors who list an overseas address as their residence, according to a letter the Federal Election Commission sent the campaign Sunday. “The Bush campaign has some clean-up to do for the disclosure report it…

July 23, 2015 | As the first 2016 GOP presidential debate draws near, candidates are staking out their policy positions. One area of debate: Whether or not to reauthorize the Export-Import Bank, which Congress failed to do before its funding expired a few weeks ago. The agency, which helps finance American exports, has been accused by some of being an enabler…

July 21, 2015 | Second quarter lobbying reports are in, showing some big jumps among the top spenders of the period from April 1 through June 30, including the American Medical Association and General Electric. No surprise that the largest spender was the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, which laid out $23.1 million in the last three months, up from…

June 16, 2015 | Michael Galloway of Bakersfield, Calif., owns a high-traffic website that takes charitable donations, has a fleet of tech companies and is now the treasurer for a new super PAC called We Are America, according to FEC filings. He also allegedly stole money from donors to his website, Catholic.org, and evaded taxes for years, federal prosecutors say. “Doing business as…

June 4, 2015 | Founded in 1636, Harvard University is generally considered to be the oldest university in the United States. With a $36.4 billion endowment, it is generally considered to be the richest university in the United States as well. And Harvard just got richer, with some help from a big Republican donor. Yesterday, Harvard College President Drew…

May 29, 2015 | Former House Speaker Dennis Hastert‘s (R-Ill.) indictment Thursday by the Justice Department on charges of evading cash transaction reporting requirements and lying to the FBI came as something of a shock to many, in part because Hastert has led a pretty low-key life as a lobbyist at Dickstein Shapiro LLP since leaving Congress in 2007. In…

May 11, 2015 | If you’re hoping to run for federal office in 2016, prepare for a lot of travel and long-distance phone calls: Top-tier political fundraisers take in much, or even most, of their haul from other states. Every year, candidates from middle America make the trek to coastal cities and return with the resources they need to…

April 30, 2015 | In the 2014 elections, 31,976 donors — equal to roughly one percent of one percent of the total population of the United States — accounted for an astounding $1.18 billion in disclosed political contributions at the federal level. Those big givers — what we have termed the Political One Percent of the One Percent…

April 3, 2015 | For more on private prisons in the United States, please visit CRP’s issue profile on the subject. Willacy County, a poor, agricultural community near Texas’ border with Mexico, has a $63 million problem that may only get worse if it can’t find a way to fill 2,800 beds with prisoners. The county has lost nearly…

March 23, 2015 | In announcing his official bid for the GOP’s 2016 presidential nomination, Sen. Ted Cruz (R-Texas) declared that he will need the “the power of millions of courageous conservatives rising up to reignite the promise of America.” He’ll certainly need the power of the millions of dollars — at least $40 million — he believes he…

March 19, 2015 | PROGRAMMING NOTE: This is a premium report for our OpenSecrets Platinum members only, so if you are not reading this on a $10,000 AppleWatch that you got as a party favor at your niece’s Sweet 16 yacht-christening and/or dressage quadrille performance, you’re in the wrong place. Now that it’s just us, let’s start with a disclosure: OpenSecrets…

March 11, 2015 | Big money hates the underdog. But what happens when the underdog wins? The race to make amends with the newcomer is a mad dash down K Street after every election, and recent campaign disclosures show some striking turnabouts by big-league PACs. More than any favoritism for Democrats or Republicans, big PAC money most reliably supports…

February 25, 2015 | Even when they don’t head straight to K Street, it’s safe to say that former members of Congress don’t forget their colleagues — nor are they consigned by them to history. For one thing, many ex-lawmakers find themselves involuntarily retired with money left in their campaign accounts and leadership PACs — money that can be used…

February 25, 2015 | D.C. residents voted to legalize marijuana, but Rep. Andy Harris (R-Md.) wants to prescribe the District a different fate. Local officials, having defied Harris’ rider in the year-end cromnibus prohibiting implementation of the city’s Initiative 71, say legalization will begin tomorrow, Feb. 26 — though congressional Republicans are equally bent on blocking it. The ballot…

February 24, 2015 | House Democrats are still in the minority — even more so after November — but the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee burst out of the gate in the 2016 cycle led by strong early donations from its own caucus. The National Republican Congressional Committee lagged in fundraising, relatively speaking — particularly from GOP House members.. Both House…

February 5, 2015 | In the ongoing scrum that is the GOP presidential money primary, every wealthy donor locked up adds both to a potential candidate’s perceived viability and his credibility with more donors. FEC filings from late last month have already yielded positive signals for several of the senators who may be angling for the nomination, but the…

February 5, 2015 | December’s cromnibus spending package was a bonanza for lobbyists, with the defense, banking, and health care industries especially flexing their influence muscle to make sure their priorities were on the agenda. The Consolidated and Further Continuing Appropriations Act (H.R. 83), or Cromnibus, which combined a short-term continuing resolution on Department of Homeland Security funding with broader…

February 2, 2015 | Mitt Romney’s will-he-won’t-he drama and the big fundraising ambitions of Jeb Bush and Chris Christie have dominated the presidential money-in-politics story lines lately, but the three GOP senators seen as most likely contenders for the 2016 Republican nomination have one advantage — long-established leadership PACs they’ve used to crisscross the country and drum up support. And numbers…

January 23, 2015 | It wasn’t a great year for Washington lobbyists, nor was it a terrible year. But according to a Center for Responsive Politics analysis of the now-complete 2014 lobbying disclosure data, federal lobbying expenditures declined yet again. Largely to blame for the drop was a weak fourth quarter, which comes as a surprise given the flurry…

January 20, 2015 | The economy is growing steadily, unemployment is down, the stock market is soaring, gas prices are diving. Good luck getting a rise out of someone by mentioning the deficit at a Washington dinner party, something that would have been unimaginable in the not-so-distant past. There’s plenty of good news for President Obama to dwell on…

January 14, 2015 | Wall Street did its part to make 2014 the most expensive midterm election ever, outpacing its 2010 total and once again putting the bulk of its financial muscle behind GOP candidates and groups. Donors from the securities and investment industry, otherwise known as Wall Street, contributed a total of $184 million to candidates, parties and outside…

January 12, 2015 | It would take the combined wealth of more than 18 American households to equal the value of a single federal lawmaker’s household, the Center for Responsive Politics’ latest analysis of congressional wealth finds. The median net worth of a member of Congress was $1,029,505 in 2013 — a 2.5 percent increase from 2012 — compared with an average American…

January 6, 2015 | Seven years after President George W. Bush signed the Honest Leadership and Open Government Act (HLOGA) into law and then-Sen. Barack Obama, (D-Ill.) declared it to be “the most sweeping ethics reform since Watergate,” a joint analysis by the Sunlight Foundation and the Center for Responsive Politics suggests the effort may have misfired. A key…

December 17, 2014 | Former Florida Governor and ex-First Brother Jeb Bush announced his plans to start a fundraising committee next month, and immediately some big names in GOP money — such as Florida developer Mel Sembler — got behind him. Bush has recently proven his ability to raise big bucks, but some of Bush’s likely competitors for the…

December 12, 2014 | In the wake of the passage of the $1.1 trillion omnibus spending bill last night, it’s no easy thing sorting out the winners and the losers. The wide variety of riders and add-ons means a slew of interest groups can claim victory, even if it’s hard to pin down exactly who should claim credit for stuffing the…

December 9, 2014 | It just isn’t their month. The same day a Washington Post piece accused his husband, Chris Hughes, of killing a century old institution of journalism, Sean Eldridge faced a report claiming he aspired to be the first openly gay president of the United States. Both come a month after Eldridge’s humiliating 30-point drubbing in New York’s 19th District congressional…

November 20, 2014 | As Goldman Sachs prepares for more unwelcome publicity tomorrow at a Senate Banking Committee hearing, these things are certain: The financial giant’s many lobbyists will be working in overdrive, and the company’s million-dollar PAC will be considering writing checks to a host of lawmakers — some of them on the House or Senate Banking Committees.…

November 3, 2014 | It’s official. Today, spending by “dark money” organizations on congressional elections surpassed that of all previous cycles. At $169.2 million so far, money spent by these groups that don’t disclose their donors handily outpaces 2010’s previous record for a midterm election, where dark money spending topped out at $135 million. It even, albeit barely, tops the $168.6 million spent…

November 2, 2014 | These last days of the campaign are when person-to-person contact with voters — the famous “ground game” — is meant to help push candidates over the top. The ground game is the last refuge of every campaign trailing in the polls, since a stellar get-out-the-vote operation can close a deficit in a hurry. This cycle, Democrats, in…

November 1, 2014 | Greg Orman’s detractors in the Kansas Senate race have sought to question his status as an Independent and depict him as a covert liberal. But one thing is certain: he’s independently wealthy. The entrepreneur trying to unseat Sen. Pat Roberts (R-Kan.) poured $1 million into his own campaign in October, bringing his self-funding total to…

November 1, 2014 | The incumbent advantage in fundraising is undisputed — so when a challenger brings in the larger haul, that often raises red flags for the sitting lawmaker’s re-election prospects. This cycle, only 10 federal races feature an outraised incumbent. Chalk those up to a variety of scenarios: a scandal-ridden candidate; a wealthy self-funding challenger; shifting political…

October 16, 2014 | The involvement of immediate family members in a drunken brawl does little to boost one’s political prospects. On a different level, the same might be said of a stingy leadership PAC. Former vice presidential candidate Sarah Palin’s SarahPAC continued to perform underwhelmingly as a source of funds for other candidates in 2014’s third quarter, a…

October 6, 2014 | One month till the election? Welcome to the OK Corral — the shootout’s just beginning. Both the National Rifle Association and Americans for Responsible Solutions, the pro-gun control group founded by former Rep. Gabrielle Giffords (D-Ariz.), have said they will unleash a fusillade of ads supporting and attacking candidates in some of the tightest contests in the…

October 3, 2014 | They may be called super PACs, but they can’t be everywhere at once. It’s become fashionable for these committees, which can spend unlimited amounts on ads backing or attacking candidates anywhere in the country, to tout their allegiance to a state. But as often as not, an OpenSecrets Blog analysis found, they run mainly on out-of-state money. We tallied up…

September 24, 2014 | Fund for Freedom, a super PAC formed in the dead of winter in 2012, had a short life and a singular purpose. Barely more than a week before the election, it dropped $670,000 on TV ads praising Hawaii GOP Senate candidate Linda Lingle and attacking her opponent, the group’s only election expenditure of the cycle.…

September 12, 2014 | A politically active nonprofit that spent more than $25 million on ads to help Republicans in the 2012 elections has stepped into a messy dispute between the government of Puerto Rico and a bank that claims the commonwealth owes it money — not something that fits neatly with the group’s activities in previous election cycles.…

September 4, 2014 | Democratic nominee Chad Taylor abruptly dropped out of the Kansas Senate race Wednesday, and his party is already counting its blessings. The surprise move has cleared up the field for Greg Orman — a toothy-grinned former Democrat now running as an independent with across-the-aisle endorsements — to pose a more serious threat to Republican incumbent Sen. Pat Roberts.…

September 2, 2014 | Americans who have taken advantage of the Supreme Court’s decision earlier this year to toss aside overall political contribution limits are one in a million. Actually, they’re slightly fewer than one in a million. Of the 318 million people in the U.S., a whopping 310 donors have given more than the total $123,200 they were allowed to…

August 18, 2014 | In Alaska’s Senate primary race, the Republican establishment has downplayed threats to its top candidate, Dan Sullivan. Yet his challengers, Joe Miller and Mead Treadwell, have triggered a frenzy of last-minute spending to ensure Sullivan wins the Tuesday election. As of late July, Sullivan had about $4.1 million in the bank — over three times more…

August 11, 2014 | A plagiarism scandal that drove Sen. John Walsh (D-Mont.) to drop his re-election bid Thursday was a major blow to the Democratic Party, still intent on proving it can keep its majority in the Senate. It also constituted a major financial loss for Democrats who’d placed their bets on Walsh and saw them evaporate long…

August 1, 2014 | Earlier this week, we detailed how a mysterious Ohio nonprofit suddenly materialized in two separate races to run attack ads. The only thing those two races had in common was that the candidate who benefited from the attack ads employed consulting firms run by a man named Nick Ayers. And, we discovered, that mysterious nonprofit…

August 1, 2014 | In New York’s 19th district, a race between a former Army colonel, Republican Rep. Chris Gibson, and Sean Eldridge, the husband of Facebook co-founder and The New Republic publisher Chris Hughes, would seem to be a study in contrasts. And yet their fundraising style isn’t so different: both have a donor base that is spread far and…

July 30, 2014 | Lobbying filings for the second quarter show that the public debate often seeps into the advocacy efforts of companies. This year: immigration, net neutrality and the right to channel a broadcast program using a tiny antenna have caused several companies to spend big in order to influence legislators. Meanwhile, some topics, including gun rights and defense spending,…

July 28, 2014 | Bruce Rauner is a Chicago billionaire who has never held political office, yet this spring he mowed down a crowd of rivals and claimed the GOP nomination to be Illinois’ next governor. David Perdue is a wealthy former executive who also has never been elected to public office, yet he too knocked off a string…

July 25, 2014 | Casinos are upping the ante over a ban on online gaming being considered in Congress, recent lobbying filings show. The Restoration of America’s Wire Act, introduced in March by Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.) and Rep. Jason Chaffetz (R-Utah), has caused an outpouring of spending from groups either supporting or opposing the bill. Meanwhile, loosened restrictions on political spending…

June 26, 2014 | Rep. Charles B. Rangel won re-election to New York’s 13th Congressional District seat by a razor-thin margin this week — but that’s no thanks to fellow Democrats, who all but abandoned their longtime colleague on the fundraising front. In 2012, when he faced his first close shave against state Sen. Adriano Espaillat, contributions from other Democrats’ campaign…

June 19, 2014 | In other upsets where tea party-backed candidates have emerged as victors, outside spending has been a big part of the formula for helping insurgents prevail. In the case of Majority Leader Eric Cantor‘s epic defeat at the hands of an unknown opponent in the Virginia GOP primary last week, though, outside groups seemed to play…

June 17, 2014 | Since the beginning of the 2014 campaign cycle last year, 14 donors — running the gamut from a hedge fund manager to a gay rights activist to a little-known Salt Lake City venture capitalist — have given $100,000 or more to President Barack Obama’s avowedly un-campaign committee, Organizing for Action. Another 26 have ponied up…

June 13, 2014 | Though it has now come to a screeching finish, Rep. Eric Cantor (R-Va.)’s leadership position in the House has brought him enduring connections, political clout and insider knowledge — in other words, potent K Street cred. “He brings incredible contacts with the whole Republican caucus in both houses” of Congress, said Ivan H. Adler, a…

June 12, 2014 | The surprising defeat of House Majority Leader Eric Cantor (R-Va.) shocked the GOP and delighted many Democrats, but it also sent the House Republican caucus into a frenzy over who would fill Cantor’s shoes as the party’s No. 2 man. Palace intrigue — already gathering steam due to speculation that House Speaker John Boehner (R-Ohio) would step…

June 10, 2014 | A handful of outside groups can make a big difference in a sparsely populated state like Maine. The state’s 2nd Congressional District Democratic primary today, pitting labor-backed Troy Jackson against University of Maine employee Emily Cain, has become an existential fight over two core constituencies of the Democratic Party: labor groups and social progressives. Jackson,…

May 30, 2014 | Late last week, the 2014 election cycle passed a quiet milestone: $100 million in outside spending since January 1, 2013. While hundreds more millions are sure to follow, we now have enough data to take a look at some of this cycle’s trends in outside spending — who’s spending, on which races, and how the…

May 29, 2014 | With the vote set for Tuesday, a former underdog is now benefiting from major national endorsements and much of the outside spending in Iowa’s Republican Senate primary. In the weeks since State Sen. Joni Ernst cut through the clutter of the five-way race with a campaign ad touting her pork-cutting experience, she has gathered support from all corners of the…

May 13, 2014 | Freedom Partners Chamber of Commerce provided more than half the two-year budget of a conservative nonprofit geared toward youth that has been running controversial anti-Obamacare ads, according to tax documents obtained by OpenSecrets.org. In the three years for which tax information is available, Generation Opportunity has raised almost 86 percent of its funds from just…

May 12, 2014 | Politics has always been partly a game of chance. And when it comes to the politics of gambling policy, where the industry’s high-rolling campaign donors are anteing up for a clash over online gaming, it’s anybody’s guess who the big winners will be. The gaming industry has long had a big presence in Washington.…

May 8, 2014 | Outside money is pouring into the Republican primary race for Idaho’s 2nd District congressional seat, but it’s not coming just from the big-spending, ideologically-driven groups that have been prominent in some other GOP primaries. Instead, an unlikely source of campaign cash has played a significant role in the race: the PACs of industry and trade…

March 12, 2014 | It's hard to sort out lobbyists' motivations for making campaign contributions. But the top recipients of their donations so far this cycle are a bit of a surprise: Top Republican leadership and at-risk Senate Democrats.

March 5, 2014 | Sean Noble's mammoth group -- which since 2009 has funneled $170 million-plus to conservative organizations involved in politicking -- seemed to be on the outs last year with its main backers. Now, say hello to American Encore.

February 28, 2014 | A Senate report this week hammered European banking giant Credit Suisse for helping American clients hide billions in Swiss tax shelters. Still, despite the report and a tough hearing that followed, Credit Suisse is actually on quite good terms with a number of lawmakers -- and is an all-around big spender in town.

January 24, 2014 | Newly released emails and recordings of conversations show top officials from the National Right to Work Committee were deeply involved with a huge off-the-books mass mailing operation benefiting state candidates in 2010, indicating the organization may have falsely told the IRS it didn't engage in politics.

January 15, 2014 | In anticipation of the Supreme Court's ruling in McCutcheon v. Federal Election Commission, the Center for Responsive Politics and the Sunlight Foundation have teamed up to look at the deep-pocketed donors who could give even more if the justices strike down another limit on the amount of money in U.S. politics.

January 9, 2014 | A watershed moment for the finances of members of Congress: In 2012, more than half were millionaires, a new analysis by the Center for Responsive Politics shows. Also, Darrell Issa reclaims the top spot.

December 9, 2013 | American Future Fund's money in 2012 came almost exclusively from the Center to Protect Patient Rights and Freedom Partners Chamber of Commerce -- two organizations that have been linked to the Koch brothers.

December 3, 2013 | With most of the annual tax filings for nondisclosing nonprofits now in, it's clear that no liberal or conservative dark money network matched, in combined size and complexity, the constellation of Koch-linked groups that churned hundreds of millions of dollars into elections around the country last year. The Center to Protect Patient Rights provided a big chunk of it, giving out more than $112 million in grants.

November 15, 2013 | Americans for Prosperity, part of a network of 501(c)(4) dark money groups linked to Charles and David Koch, spent tens of millions trying to defeat President Obama in 2012. It also found some money to give to the Center to Protect Patient Rights, an Arizona-based (c)(4) group with no activities of its own.

October 22, 2013 | A joint analysis by the Center for Responsive Politics and the Washington Post shows that business interests played a key role in helping elect lawmakers who rejected their plea to raise the debt ceiling and end the shutdown.

October 7, 2013 | Americans for Job Security, one of the original dark money groups, gave far more to the Center to Protect Patient Rights -- a nonprofit tied to the Koch brothers that does little besides than make grants to other conservative groups -- than has been revealed in California litigation.

September 26, 2013 | Sen. Ted Cruz's marathon speechifying seemed meant to please a certain subset of the Texan's supporters -- and it did. But what about his corporate contributors? They're big backers of the Republican establishment, which didn't much like his "filibuster."

September 18, 2013 | Freedom Partners' 990 filing reveals the identities of some grantees of other dark money groups. But it also shows that the 501(c)(6) is one of the biggest trade associations in the U.S. -- and a highly unusual one in that it has given almost all of its money to other groups.

September 13, 2013 | The National Association of Federal Credit Unions hosted a "fly-in" this week, bringing members to Washington to visit Capitol Hill and directly lobby their representatives. The American Banker's Association was not amused. However concerned big banks might be that credit unions are growing elsewhere, when it comes to Washington -- it's not much of a competition.

September 12, 2013 | A group that's been newly revealed as a major donor of conservative nonprofits who were active in the 2012 elections sent more to the Center to Protect Patient Rights last year than CPPR's combined budget for the previous three years. We put the Politico story in context.

July 23, 2013 | The U.S. Chamber of Commerce has spent more than $1 billion lobbying members of Congress and other officials since 1998 - by far a greater amount than any other organization over the period. The Chamber has no rivals in terms of raw resources devoted to lobbying - and may also have little competition when it comes to overall influence on the Hill.

July 12, 2013 | A pair of big-spending Democratic outside groups have launched a volley of attack ads in two states where hot Senate races may develop, and almost immediately an equally well-connected Republican group has fired back. Big names are directing the fight, but the names of donors bankrolling the exchange haven't been disclosed. In the case of one of the groups, they never will be.

May 31, 2013 | Ever since Jo Ann Emerson announced in early December that she would be leaving the House of Representatives, the race for the empty Missouri 8th district seat has been on. And if money talks, it's saying that aspiring congressman Jason Smith, a Republican, has seized a decisive advantage over his Democratic counterpart Steve Hodges. With the special election set for next week, it appears that the fundraising battle has already been won.

May 29, 2013 | A feeling of déjà vu permeates the current student loan debate. Just last June, President Barack Obama and Congress agreed on holding the interest rate for unsubsidized Stafford loans at 3.4 percent. However, that agreement expires on July 1.
Our data shows that the education industry has invested heavily in members of the House and Senate who currently are working on bills to address the issue.

May 24, 2013 | Lobbyists from the banking industry had significant input into the wording of a bill exempting certain kinds of trades from regulation under the Dodd-Frank financial overhaul. Players in the industry also had their checkbooks out for lawmakers on the House Financial Services Committee in the first quarter of this year.

April 22, 2013 | Not surprisingly -- and per the usual pattern -- lobbying expenditures by pro-gun rights groups in the first quarter of 2013 far surpassed that of groups on the other side. But there wasn't as much of a jump in that spending as some expected, given the Sandy Hook shootings.

February 21, 2013 | American Tradition Partnership -- formerly known as Western Tradition Partnership -- has an unusual history of political antics. In January, for instance, a Montana judge found that the group used "subterfuge" to avoid disclosing its donors. OpenSecrets.org has obtained the first 990 form the group has filed with the IRS -- but it sheds little light on ATP's activities.

February 19, 2013 | Justice Clarence Thomas was on the bench today hearing a case involving seed patents held by his previous employer, Monsanto. Thomas aside, though, Monsanto has plenty of friends in Washington: It's the big guy on the agribusiness block when it comes to providing campaign cash and lobbying muscle.

February 15, 2013 | When the Democrats were putting together their convention in Charlotte, they shunned corporate contributions, only to run into a funding crisis. Their workarounds included a loan guaranteed by Duke Energy -- a loan that appears to be turning into a donation.

February 14, 2013 | Americans borrow a lot of money, and so do members of Congress. In 2011, lawmakers owed between $238.9 million and $568.3 million to various creditors, not including their home mortgage obligations. But it's not all student and car loans and carried-over credit card balances. Lawmakers borrow to buy planes and boats, and get involved in complex transactions involving lines of credit and margin loans with exclusive investment funds. And some carry credit card balances of more than $100,000.

February 8, 2013 | Democratic fundraising stalwart Penny Pritzker sits atop Obama's list of potential picks to run the Commerce Department. Also, is it odd that Rep. Steve King -- mentioned as a possible target of Karl Rove's new group that will pick favorites in GOP primaries -- actually benefited from money spent on his behalf in 2012 by Rove's old group?

February 1, 2013 | We know, we know: 2012 is over, done, in the rear-view mirror. But in the campaign finance world, midnight last night in many ways marked a reckoning for 2012 politicians, super PACs and others involved in the election.

January 31, 2013 | Gary Morse's the Villages, one of the world's largest retirement communities, hires a federal lobbyist in connection with the very issue for which the company is under investigation by the IRS. But he's unlikely to have trouble opening doors among Republican lawmakers.

January 20, 2013 | Labor unions finally show up on the list of inaugural donors, along with more big-name corporations and a sprinkling of celebrities. But once again, the Friday-night release of contributors is devoid of info to help viewers figure out who they are -- details like hometown and employer. And the list doesn't reveal how much each donor kicked in.

January 17, 2013 | Shadow money groups take another hit at the state level as a Montana judge rules Western Tradition Partnership used "subterfuge" to avoid disclosing its donors and posting required disclaimers. And former Michele Bachmann presidential campaign staffer Peter Waldron sticks another needle in his voodoo doll with a complaint to the FEC about how Bachmann paid a consultant.

January 16, 2013 | Think the Congress that just ended was out of touch with America? The new one may be no better, judging by how much it's worth. Overall, lawmakers are even wealthier than in previous years, according to our analysis of their 2011 financial disclosure statements, and 257 of them -- seven more than in 2010 -- are millionaires.

December 26, 2012 | It's that time of the year where retiring members of Congress or those who were forced out by voters begin looking for jobs elsewhere -- such as K Street. Making the jump from lawmaker to lobbyist is lucrative. Some members aren't even waiting for their terms to expire.

December 21, 2012 | A previously unreported nonprofit network funneled millions of dollars to the Koch brothers' effort to catch up with Democrats' voter microtargeting. And beyond that, it sent money to a collection of other tax-exempt groups that worked to get Republicans elected in the last two campaign cycles.

December 12, 2012 | With the final fundraising numbers filed, Barack Obama's leading contributing industry was lawyers and law firms with $27 million, while Wall Street was Mitt Romney's, giving him $21 million.

December 11, 2012 | Some of the nation's biggest banks are defendants in a whole new round of lawsuits over subprime mortgages, with potential liability in the hundreds of billions. WalMart is accused of illegal lobbying in India, though it all seems to be a misunderstanding.

December 7, 2012 | Priorities USA Action brought in $15 million in the weeks before the election, and after the vote still had $4 million in the bank. The Adelsons send $23 million to American Crossroads in the final days. A union-funded group spends $1 million against Scott Brown just before the vote. And FreedomWorks for America picks up another $5 million-plus from the mysterious Specialty Group.

November 29, 2012 | U.N. Ambassador and Secretary of State candidate Susan Rice is one of the wealthiest members of the executive branch, and she has millions of dollars in the finance, insurance, real estate and energy and natural resources sectors.

November 21, 2012 | Virginia's Mark Warner decides to stay in the belly of the Senate beast, setting the stage for a VERY costly 2014 re-election bid. And the Terps move to the Big 10, along with Rutgers, but both schools already rank highly in terms of political contributions.

November 7, 2012 | Some winning challengers yesterday had a cash advantage to neutralize the incumbent advantage, though a couple of races where challengers won the fundraising battle are still too close to call.

October 30, 2012 | Super PACs and nonprofits unleashed by the Citizens United Supreme Court decision have spent more than $840 million on the 2012 election, with the overwhelming majority favoring Republicans, particularly GOP presidential nominee Mitt Romney. The spending helped close the gap on Obama's considerable fundraising advantage over his rival.

October 22, 2012 | With Election Day looming and the need for cash urgent, core constituencies for each of the presidential campaigns stepped up their support in the month of September. But each candidate also made headway fundraising from industries that have been stalwarts for their opponents.

October 18, 2012 | The story of how the conventions were funded this year follows much the same path as the whole campaign finance narrative this year -- the Republicans dominated the money game, pushed by big dollar donations from billionaires, while Democrats turned to traditional allies and two big hometown corporations to pay their convention bill.

October 17, 2012 | With support from casino mogul Sheldon Adelson and a board laden with well-connected luminaries of GOP fundraising, the Republican Jewish Coalition is making a strong push to turn just enough Jews against Obama to deny him re-election.

October 17, 2012 | Most NFL owners support Republicans, despite a big contribution from the wife of the Pittsburgh Steelers' owner to an outside spending group that backs Obama. Also, Wall Street drops Obama like he was a live grenade.

October 11, 2012 | The national spotlight that focused on the 2010 Senate race won by Republican Scott Brown has once again lit up Massachusetts. Challenger Elizabeth Warren had outraised the incumbent through the first half of the year, and both candidates had plenty of money in the bank.

October 3, 2012 | Former World Wrestling Entertainment CEO Linda McMahon doesn't need the support of a super PAC, and she doesn't need to hold $500-a-head fundraisers. She has her very own deep pockets -- though she's dipped into them for far less cash than she did in 2010 and has spent the money more wisely, which has kept her Senate race with Democratic Rep. Chris Murphy very, very competitive.

October 2, 2012 | Billionaire Georgian businessman Bidzina Ivanishvili appears set to be the new prime minister of his country. That'll have repercussions on K Street, as well: Ivanishvili has spent some of his millions hiring lobbyists to represent him in the U.S.

October 1, 2012 | The company at the heart of possible voter registration fraud in Florida has worked for several state GOP committees around the nation, and so has another one tied to its owner, Nathan Sproul.

September 28, 2012 | A super PAC set up to back pro-gay marriage Republicans appears finally to be joining the fray, releasing an attack ad targeting a challenger to Rep. Judy Biggert (R-Ill.). American Unity PAC, which had $1.8 million in the bank as of the end of August, drops a $500,000 ad buy on Biggert's Democratic challenger, Bill Foster.

September 21, 2012 | The conservative Club for Growth takes aim at Lindsey Graham, while Tim Pawlenty takes a lucrative new job -- and removes himself from consideration for a Romney cabinet slot. And billionaires donate to a pro-Republican, pro-gay marriage super PAC that hasn't done anything yet.

September 17, 2012 | The race between Tammy Baldwin and Tommy Thompson for a Wisconsin Senate seat shows Thompson's fundraising has been far less hearty than Baldwin's -- but what a difference name recognition makes.

September 7, 2012 | A few months back there was excitement over a new super PAC founded by bankers to target members of Congress -- it didn't really pan out. But a new organization created yesterday might do better -- it will collect money anonymously from big banks and target Senate races.

August 29, 2012 | Ann Romney's speech reached out to female voters, but female donors are not backing her husband; despite fundraising advantages and a well-known Republican name, Rep. Ben Quayle lost his seat last night; and at least one super PAC can't rely on the old man's money this year.

August 23, 2012 | Through the end of July, Barack Obama and Mitt Romney have combined to pick up $1.1 million in donations from overseas donors, according to an OpenSecrets.org analysis. The biggest source of funding is the United Kingdom, where the two candidates have relatively equal levels of support -- the rest of the world isn't so evenly split.

August 15, 2012 | This year's long, expensive and often unpredictable primary season is drawing to a close, but could still have some surprises in store. Races in Wisconsin and Florida pitted Tea Party favorites against members of the Republican old guard, and candidates are divided not just by philosophy but by fundraising style and super PAC support.

August 13, 2012 | Two super PACs focused on a handful of races and advised by the same lawyer-lobbyist have kept most of their donors' names secret by drawing all or nearly all of their funds from tax-exempt groups that don't have to disclose the source of their money.

August 9, 2012 | After nearly two weeks of stiff competition among K Street's most powerful forces, the final -- and toughest -- event at Washington's Influence Olympics is upon us: the marathon. Like the actual event at the London Games, participants in the marathon at the Influence Olympics must possess the endurance to sustain a strong lobbying operation over a long period of time. Unlike the real Olympics, however, many of the top sprinters are also among the most competitive marathon runners.

August 3, 2012 | "Super PAC" may be a household term to readers of this blog, but most Americans don't know what one is. NYC anticipates local super PAC activity and adopts stronger disclosure regs, and the DCCC says "sorry" to Sheldon Adelson.

August 2, 2012 | Dozens of candidates have more than $130 million invested in their own campaigns ahead of the November elections, in races ranging from the recent Texas primary runoff to a Hail Mary Senate campaign in Arizona.

August 1, 2012 | President Obama anted up for his own re-election bid, something he didn't do in 2008. If he wins, he may have to deal with even more gridlock on Capitol Hill now that one of the last Republican moderates, Rep. Steve LaTourette, is exiting. And a Washington lobbying firm is the home of a pro-Bahrain group that took GOP Rep. Dan Burton to that country, and the firm has other interesting ties to the Hoosier State.

July 31, 2012 | The U.S. may have taken gold in women's gymnastics today -- but who medaled in the decathlon in Washington's Influence Olympics? The winners, some of whom had very limited resources, lobbied on the greatest number of issues.

July 31, 2012 | Ted Cruz and David Dewhurst have been collecting Republican endorsements like so many gold coins, but the real gold was the independent spending in the race by 17 different organizations. All told, $7.7 million was spent by outside groups supporting Cruz, while $6.2 million favored Dewhurst, helping make the race the costliest non-presidential race so far this election cycle.

July 30, 2012 | After a bumpy beginning to his first trip abroad as the 2012 Republican presidential candidate, Mitt Romney appears to have weathered the storm set off by his turbulent comments about London's preparation for the Olympic games and landed safely in the court of nearly fifty major donors in Israel.

July 26, 2012 | Elizabeth Warren's record-breaking fundraising includes huge amounts from small donors -- almost half of the $24.5 million she's raised in the 2012 cycle. Meanwhile some of Obama's 2008 bundlers are blocked from helping him this year because, as ambassadors, they're government employees, while Romney still won't make public who his bundlers are. And American Future Fund, a 501(c)(4), wants to set up joint fundraising committees with candidates and super PACs, breaking down more walls between different types of politically active organizations.

July 20, 2012 | Amid recent media reports of banks manipulating interest rates, cheating consumers, and doing business with money launderers, the Center for Responsive Politics' early review of second quarter lobbying filings reveals a a noticeable drop in lobbying expenditures for a few (now infamous) banks. Barclays, whose CEO Bob Diamond resigned last month after the British bank was fined for manipulating information that affects a key interest rate known as LIBOR, barely registered a lobbying presence over the last three months.

July 19, 2012 | TCF Financial's PAC has given away $105,500 in this election cycle, mostly to the usual assortment of candidates and other committees. But $25,000 -- nearly a quarter of its donations -- went to Americans for Prosperity, the Koch brothers' very conservative nonprofit that spent millions targeting Democrats in 2010.

July 17, 2012 | Mitt Romney's still only releasing the names of his bundlers who are also federally registered lobbyists. But that sliver of information does provide some insight: His biggest lobbyist-bundler is Patrick Durkin, lobbyist for Barclay's Capital -- the giant British bank currently under attack for allegedly rigging international interest rates.

July 16, 2012 | Certain super PACs that spent money in primaries without disclosing where they got the funds have now had to report to the FEC. There are some familiar megadonors among them -- and in one case, a big gift from another super PAC that hasn't said where its money comes from. That just adds another layer of opaqueness to the puzzle.

July 16, 2012 | Super PACs turn out to be good repositories for cash from family in Washington state and Florida. And in Indiana, the pro-Lugar super PAC's biggest donor was a secretive groups that doesn't disclose its donors.

July 12, 2012 | After being elected to the Senate just two years ago, Ayotte is in the running as a possible veep candidate. She's one of Sarah Palin's "mamma grizzlies," and has attracted lots of checks from other politicians' leadership PACs as well as from insurance and financial firms.

July 6, 2012 | After riding an anti-establishment Tea Party wave into office in 2010, Sen. Marco Rubio (R-FL) has gone from being a relatively unknown state representative to a potential vice presidential pick in just two short years. Although some have reported that GOP candidate Mitt Romney is not vetting Rubio, the campaign insists it is considering the 41-year-old Florida native for the VP slot.

July 5, 2012 | Six lawmakers that received special loan deals from troubled mortgage dealer Countrywide were also the beneficiaries of more than $105,000 in collective campaign contributions from the subprime giant.

July 5, 2012 | After months of debate, the FCC's rule requiring broadcasting companies to post information about political advertisements online is finally going into effect, Rick Santorum's new nonprofit may be violating IRS rules and Barclays' CEO resigns and will no longer host a Mitt Romney fundraiser.

July 2, 2012 | Nine super PACs that collectively spent nearly $1.3 million in recent congressional
primaries disclosed just $37,318 in contributions before voters cast their ballots, due to a loophole in Federal Election Commission disclosure rules. Whether the groups gamed the system intentionally or not, the identities of the donors to most of them won't be known till mid-July.

June 28, 2012 | The primary battle between Republican James Bridenstine and Rep. John Sullivan (R-OK) in Oklahoma's 1st Congressional District was not only a clash of Tea Party and establishment Republicans, but of different types of medical professionals.

June 26, 2012 | Despite outside spending, Orrin Hatch is a lock to prevail in his primary, while JPMorgan Chase employees show some love for House Majority Leader Eric Cantor's leadership PAC. And a breakdown of the Obama campaign's spending.

June 22, 2012 | But other than the Hollywood bump, the sources of Obama's campaign cash remained fairly static. The president raised nearly $3 million from retired donors in May, a group which has held the top spot for both Obama and Romney for the entire cycle so far.

June 18, 2012 | JPMorgan Chase CEO Jamie Dimon's time in the Washington spotlight will continue Tuesday when he testifies before the House Financial Services Committee. His company has heavily favored Republicans on the panel with its campaign contributions.

June 18, 2012 | A joint investigation by the Center for Public Integrity and the Center for Responsive Politics has found that more than 100 nonprofits organized under section 501(c)(4) of the U.S. tax code spent roughly $95 million on political expenditures in the 2010 election compared with $65 million by super PACs.

May 18, 2012 | A secretive, well-funded group provided $44 million in 2010 to a host of 501(c)(4) groups, many of which were among the most active in airing ads attacking Democrats in the midterm elections. The Center to Protect Patient Rights was the source of more than half the budget of the group American Future Fund, for example. The Center's role in funding the groups has not previously been reported.

May 15, 2012 | Ron Paul's announcement Monday effectively ending his presidential bid brought the end of a quiet campaign that nevertheless raised more money -- $36.7 million as of March 31-- than that of any Republican candidate other than Mitt Romney. And his donors had an identity all their own.

May 10, 2012 | Expenditures by super PACs are on the verge of hitting $100 million, further proof that outside spending will far outstrip anything seen in previous election cycles. For a little perspective, consider that one super PAC, Restore Our Future, has already spent more -- $44.5 million -- than all outside groups combined had spent at this point in 2008.

April 24, 2012 | This is no man-bites-dog story. Law firms led the list of top donors to Barack Obama's presidential campaign in March, while top financial firms were the chief backer's of Mitt Romney's bid. And the top industry donating to super PACs: wealthy individuals in finance. Overall, an analysis of OpenSecrets.org data shows, the candidates didn't stray far from their past fundraising patterns: industries that have been well represented in the top ten stayed there, with a few variations.

April 9, 2012 | One of the newest super PACs in town is devoted to banking interests. But a close look at the people associated with this new super PAC reveals a more nuanced picture. Rather than being another tentacle of Wall Street, the group could signal an intramural fight amongst bankers -- Wall Street versus Main Street.

March 21, 2012 | New fundraising reports filed this week show a handful of super PACs continue to cast a long shadow over over a volatile 2012 presidential contest, raising and spending millions of dollars on behalf of preferred candidates, and in some cases, propping them up entirely.

March 20, 2012 | Blue Dog Democrats are an endangered species on Capitol Hill, but their fundraising suggests they may be clawing their way back with a little help from Democratic leadership PACs, among others.

March 5, 2012 | Donors to Americans for Prosperity, a 501(c)(4) group founded by one of the Koch brothers and heavily involved in politics, include several conservative foundations, the American Petroleum Institute, and a conduit fund designed to give contributors an extra layer of anonymity. The sources of about 75 percent of its 2010 budget remain even more of a mystery.

February 21, 2012 | The GOP presidential candidates and the super PACs supporting them accelerated their fundraising -- and especially their spending -- in January as the first primary and caucus voters went to the polls. But Mitt Romney -- heretofore the best-funded of the Republican hopefuls -- may face hurdles going forward as more than half his donors have hit the legal maximum they can give to him for the primary season.

February 2, 2012 | Republican Mitt Romney relied on the finance, insurance and real estate sector for roughly $2 out of every $11 he raised during the fourth quarter of 2011, according to a new analysis by the Center for Responsive Politics of campaign finance documents submitted Tuesday to the Federal Election Commission.

January 12, 2012 | Sheila Krumholz, executive director of the Center for Responsive Politics, has a column in today's New York Times' "Campaign Stops" blog about the shocking lack of transparency in this crucial stretch of the GOP presidential campaign.

December 12, 2011 | Nothing is known about the donors to Crossroads GPS -- a conservative group that, along with its affiliated super PAC, American Crossroads -- plans to spend $240 million during the 2012 election cycle. But the finance, insurance and real estate sector accounts for $1 out of every $9 that American Crossroads has raised. Yet Crossroads GPS recently slammed Democratic U.S. Senate candidate Elizabeth Warren for allegedly being too close to Big Finance.

November 30, 2011 | A complaint to the FEC against Rep. Rob Andrews (D-N.J.) alleges that the eleven-term congressman illegally used tens of thousands of dollars contributed to his campaign to pay for a luxurious trip to Scotland to attend a donor's wedding, a graduation party for one of his daughters and to support his other daughter's acting and singing career.

November 29, 2011 | Rep. Barney Frank (D-Mass.) announced earlier today that he would not seek re-election. Frank, who is in his 16th term in the U.S. House of Representatives, is the highest ranking Democrat on the House Financial Services Committee. In recent years especially, he's been a prolific fund-raiser, often raising huge sums from the industries that the Financial Services Committee regulates.

November 18, 2011 | Despite their anti-Washington rhetoric, many freshmen members of the House Tea Party Caucus have been increasingly reliant on special interest political action committees, a joint analysis by iWatch News and the Center for Responsive Politics has found.

November 16, 2011 | Chicago hedge fund manager Ken Griffin, who served as one of President Barack Obama's top fund-raisers four years ago, says he won't be backing Obama again this election. Instead, he'll be fueling an on-again, off-again love affair with the GOP and raising money to help elect Mitt Romney.

November 15, 2011 | These days, being a millionaire typically qualifies you as part of the one percent. But in Congress, it only makes you average. About 47 percent of Congress, or 250 current members of Congress, are millionaires, according to a new study by the Center for Responsive Politics of lawmakers' personal financial disclosure forms covering calendar year 2010.

November 14, 2011 | Despite the move last week by Jefferson County, Ala., to file for bankruptcy, the residents of the region have continually been among the most generous Alabamians in terms of their campaign contributions.

November 3, 2011 | Occupy DC protesters announced plans this week to demonstrate at a conference sponsored by the conservative advocacy group Americans for Prosperity, a non-profit conservative advocacy group funded in large part by libertarian businessmen Charles and David Koch.

November 2, 2011 | During the third quarter of 2011, more than 400 companies, unions, trade associations and other groups reported lobbying the Joint Select Committee on Deficit Reduction, popularly known as the debt supercommittee, according to a new analysis by the Center for Responsive Politics of reports filed last month with the U.S. Senate.

November 2, 2011 | Lobbying expenditures fell during the third quarter of 2011 for many of the country's most prominent companies, especially those in the energy and natural resource sector, according to a preliminary analysis of about 90 percent of all third-quarter lobbying reports by the Center for Responsive Politics.

November 1, 2011 | On Monday, the White House announced support for two bills currently weaving their way through Congress related to access to prescription drugs, and President Barack Obama isn't the only one with his eye on this legislation.

October 25, 2011 | K Street and Capitol Hill veteran Broderick Johnson is joining the re-election campaign of President Barack Obama as a senior adviser. Johnson's clients over the years have included numerous political heavy weights, such as Anheuser-Busch, AT&T, Bank of America, the Biotechnology Industry Organization, Comcast, Fannie Mae, FedEx, Ford, the GEO Group, JPMorgan Chase, Microsoft, Shell Oil, Time Warner and Verizon.

October 22, 2011 | Though the locales and agendas of the Occupy movement have widened, its origins in the financial district of New York City suggest a central theme: the undue influence of Wall Street corporations.

October 17, 2011 | The finance sector accounts for more than 23 percent of Republican presidential candidate Mitt Romney's total war chest, more than any other candidate. Moreover, Romney has received nearly twice as much as President Barack Obama from the finance, insurance and real estate sector.

October 11, 2011 | As they chase voters and campaign cash, the eight Republican presidential hopefuls will debate tonight at Dartmouth College, in New Hampshire, from 8 p.m. until 10 p.m. Notably, former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney has collected more money from residents of the Granite State than any of his GOP rivals.

October 6, 2011 | Art Pope, a conservative multimillionaire profiled in this week's New Yorker, used his wealth and nonprofit empire to intervene in 22 state races in North Carolina last year, 18 of which resulted in Republican victories.
The man the New Yorker alleges purchased North Carolina's state legislature in the 2010 elections has steered significant sums to national Republicans as well, according to research by the Center for Responsive Politics.

October 6, 2011 | Bank of America's decision to charge its debit card users $5 per month has drawn the ire first of customers, and now, politicians, including President Barack Obama, who collected about $395,000 from Bank of America employees during his 2008 presidential run -- although this year BofA employees have favored Republican Mitt Romney with their campaign cash.

September 30, 2011 | Republican presidential candidate Mitt Romney met privately with Wall Street titan Jamie Dimon earlier this week. Dimon is the chief executive officer of the world's largest public company, JPMorgan Chase, and is a prolific political donor, according to research by the Center for Responsive Politics. He is, in other words, a great person to have on your side in a presidential race.

September 23, 2011 | Welcome to the latest installment of OpenSecrets.org Mailbag, where we answer your burning questions about the role of money in politics, political influence and the work we do here at OpenSecrets.org.

September 23, 2011 | Moody's evaluation was meant to be apolitical. But Moody's itself doesn't stay above the fray. Last year, the company spent $1.5 million on federal lobbying, and during the first half of this year, it spent $610,000.

September 22, 2011 | Not every super PAC with connections that run deep through the heart of Texas is working to help elect Republicans. Texans for America's Future, which filed a statement of organization with the Federal Election Commission on Monday, has connections to Democratic politicos in the Lone Star State.

September 21, 2011 | A South Carolina pharmaceutical executive and major contributor to Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.) has been indicted for making at least $31,000 in illegal donations to the senator and embezzling at least $3.6 million of federal grant money, which Graham helped to earmark.

September 19, 2011 | Actor Alec Baldwin made headlines over the weekend for a joke involving the News Corp. phone-hacking scandal, which was cut by network officials before it made it to the airwaves during the Emmys. Baldwin's political contributions indicate he leans Democratic, unlike Fox and News Corp. Chairman Rupert Murdoch.

September 13, 2011 | This morning, the House Judiciary Committee's subcommittee on crime, terrorism and homeland security will hold a hearing on H.R. 822, the National Right-to-Carry Reciprocity Act of 2011, legislation that has been targeted by both gun control groups and organizations supportive of gun rights.

September 12, 2011 | The conservative powerhouses of Crossroads Grassroots Policy Strategies and American Crossroads will add the Mississippi Gov. Haley Barbour to its ranks, according to a press release on the groups' website.

September 10, 2011 | Welcome to the latest installment of OpenSecrets.org Mailbag, where we answer your burning questions about the role of money in politics, political influence and the work we do here at OpenSecrets.org.

September 6, 2011 | Top Democratic and Republican leaders of the so-called debt supercommittee announced Friday that inaugural hearings scheduled for next week will be open to the press and the public.

September 6, 2011 | Federal law requires the nine Supreme Court justices to annually disclose details about their personal finances. These records can reveal potential conflicts of interest and offer a look into the lives of the justices outside the chambers of the Supreme Court.

August 22, 2011 | Earlier this year, Republicans in both the House and Senate introduced resolutions urging approval of the U.S.-Korea Free Trade Agreement. At since then, hundreds of companies, unions and trade associations have set their sites on the proposal.

August 17, 2011 | Many special interest groups have invested heavily in supercommittee members on both sides of the aisle, including the securities and investment firms, the real estate industry and health professionals, according to new research by the Center for Responsive Politics.

August 16, 2011 | Fresh off his unsuccessful gubernatorial campaign as the Constitution Party candidate in Colorado, ex-Rep. Tom Tancredo has founded his own super PAC. The group, which is known as the American Legacy Alliance, filed paperwork with the Federal Election Commission Friday.

August 5, 2011 | It happened with typewriters, eight-tracks, VCRs and even flip-phones. Now advocates for the public financing of political campaigns fear that the system once used by most presidential candidates could also become irrelevant without an upgrade.

July 28, 2011 | Fairsearch.org will not be giving Google a +1. To combat what they see as "the Google problem," Fairsearch.org hired lobbyists for the first time and spent 80,000 lobbying during the second quarter on behalf of "competition in the search market," according to a review of lobbying disclosure reports by the Center for Responsive Politics.

July 21, 2011 | Seven of the biggest and most high-profile banks and investment companies -- Wells Fargo, JPMorgan Chase & Co, Citigroup, Goldman Sachs, Bank of America, Morgan Stanley and the American Bankers Association -- have spent a combined $20 million on lobbying the federal government so far this year, according to research by the Center for Responsive Politics.

July 18, 2011 | Between the 1990 election cycle and the 2010 election cycle, former Ohio AG Richard Cordray donated $71,080 to Democratic candidates and organizations, research from the Center for Responsive Politics indicates. His wife, Margaret, donated an additional $16,500 -- also all to Democrats.

June 16, 2011 | Republican Jon Huntsman, the former governor of Utah and a former ambassador, used his vast personal fortune to fund a new website and video hyping his presidential bid, which he plans to launch next week. Huntsman is the son of American businessman Jon Huntsman, Sr., whose net worth is estimated to exceed $1 billion.

June 15, 2011 | On Tuesday, a judge in the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia issued a preliminary injunction in the campaign finance case Carey v. Federal Election Commission. The move opens the door for political action committees that are not connected to corporations, unions or trade associations to raise unlimited contributions, even if they directly donate money to candidates.

May 26, 2011 | In an election year where more congressional incumbents were ousted from power than any time since 1948, political action committees were quick to switch allegiances from one party to the other in the aftermath of the historic Democratic losses.

May 19, 2011 | During April, the leadership PAC of House Tea Party Caucus founder Michele Bachmann, who is considering a presidential bid, raised $172,800, according to the Center for Responsive Politics' review of campaign finance documents filed Tuesday with the Federal Election Commission.

May 17, 2011 | One of the rules of operating a super PAC is that the group must be independent: Its spending cannot be done in coordination with any candidate or political party. But a new super PAC, launched last week by GOP super lawyer James Bopp, appears to be pushing the envelope on that, and other, prohibitions.

May 11, 2011 | With a competitive three-way special election just two weeks away in the New York 26th Congressional District, the big-spending conservative super PAC American Crossroads is stepping into the action. And the group's move prompted the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee to make a big media buy of its own, too.

May 5, 2011 | An analysis by the Center for Responsive Politics reveals that the Citizens United v. Federal Election Commission Supreme Court ruling of January 2010 has profoundly affected the nation's political landscape.

May 3, 2011 | Several of the year's hottest political topics have witnessed the greatest increase in lobbyists' attention during the first months of the 112th Congress, according to a preliminary analysis of lobbying reports by the Center for Responsive Politics.

May 2, 2011 | In all, 43 different companies, organizations and special interest groups last year employed at least three former congressmen as registered federal lobbyists, a Center for Responsive Politics analysis indicates.

April 18, 2011 | Businesses hate taxes, which is why they love lobbying the federal government in a bid to keep them low, lower or less than that. And on this day -- Tax Day 2011 -- the Center for Responsive Politics pause a moment to reflect on the corporation, trade associations and special interest groups that lobbied most during 2010 on taxation issues.

April 15, 2011 | The House Financial Services Committee is a furnace in which legislation affecting Wall Street is forged. It's also a hotbed of money from individuals and political committee committees connected to the financial sector.

April 14, 2011 | Many of the 87 House GOP freshmen who ran as Washington outsiders are now turning to K Street lobbyists and other special interest groups to help pay off their sizable campaign debts and prepare for their re-election campaigns.

April 13, 2011 | Five House Republican freshmen who received substantial campaign contribution from the financial industry after the Nov. 2 election are taking the lead in trying to repeal or replace parts of the sweeping Dodd-Frank financial services reform law.

April 11, 2011 | Former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney today announced his intention to explore a presidential run in a video posted on his website. Romney, a Republican and proven political fund-raiser, was long expected to declare his intention to again run for president.

March 31, 2011 | Freedom fighters, pornographers and self-proclaimed evil rich men are among the cast of characters appearing in federal campaign finance documents stretching back more than two decades, according to an analysis by the Center for Responsive Politics.

March 30, 2011 | Earlier this week, Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) urged his colleagues to support new legislation to close "corporate tax loopholes." As part of his pitch, Sanders highlighted the 10 "worst corporate income tax avoiders" -- many of which are among the biggest spenders when in comes to lobbying in the nation's capital, according to research by the Center for Responsive Politics.

March 25, 2011 | Corporate treasury money accounted for about $15.5 million of the cash donated to so-called "super PACs" -- political committees created by the dozen in the wake of the SpeechNow.org v. Federal Election Commission ruling one year ago, the Center for Responsive Politics finds. That represents more than 17 percent of these new groups' funds.

March 11, 2011 | Despite dismal electoral results for Democrats nationally in 2010, fund-raising powerhouse ActBlue had its most prolific period on record. The political committee, which serves as an online conduit of contributions for Democrats, funneled approximately $60 million to federal candidates and committees during the 2010 election cycle.

March 10, 2011 | One out of every four groups that lobbied on any issue at the federal level during 2009 or 2010 targeted their efforts on health care reform, financial regulatory reform, the stimulus and cap-and-trade climate proposals, according to research by the Center for Responsive Politics.

March 9, 2011 | U.S. House and Senate freshmen are together a notably wealthy bunch, enjoying exponentially greater wealth than most of the Americans they represent, according to a Center for Responsive Politics analysis of federal personal financial disclosure reports.

March 1, 2011 | Former Senate Banking Committee Chairman Chris Dodd (D-Conn.) may not be legally allowed to lobby his colleagues on the Hill until 2013, but that hasn't stopped him from taking the job of Hollywood's top lobbyist.

March 1, 2011 | Karl Rove was once known by his boss, President George W. Bush, as Turd Blossom, but can his new nickname be the Comeback Kid? An article in New York Magazine explains that after numerous political setbacks, scandal and an ideologically divided party the former senior adviser to Bush "has a new lease on life" mainly in due to his political committees' fund-raising and electoral success.

February 28, 2011 | For this week's PolitiQuizz, we want you to take a look at the finances of two defense industry members in relation to the House Armed Services Committee. Boeing and General Electric's political action committees are prolific contributors to numerous federal candidates. During the 2010 election cycle, which freshmen Republicans on the House Armed Services Committee received contributions from both Boeing and General Electric?

February 28, 2011 | Investor Joseph Cassano, who was fired from insurance giant AIG three years ago this week, has been called "patient zero" of the financial crisis. Before his fall from grace, Cassano generously supported a few favored politicians, especially former Sen. Chris Dodd (D-Conn.), who served as the chairman of the powerful Senate Banking Committee.

February 25, 2011 | Before the subprime mortgage meltdown, accusations of fraud and insider trading and congressional investigations into his VIP mortgage program, Countrywide Chairman Angelo Mozilo was a generous campaign donor. Between January 1989 and June 2008 -- when Mozilo left Countrywide -- he donated about $120,000 to federal candidates and committees, according to a Center for Responsive Politics review of campaign finance records.

February 4, 2011 | The nation's financial malaise is finally catching up to K Street, where federal lobbying activity plateaued for the first time in a decade, the Center for Responsive Politics' research indicates. After a record $3.49 billion in lobbying spending in 2009, lobbying expenditures in 2010 by corporations, unions, trade associations, universities and other organizations will, at most, eclipse that amount by the narrowest of margins.

January 25, 2011 | CORPORATE CASH FLOWS TO TOP REPUBLICANS: "The new Republican leaders in the House have received millions of dollars in contributions from banks, health insurers and other major business interests, which are pressing for broad reversals of Democratic policies that affect corporations," Dan Eggen and T.W. Farnam of the Washigton Post wrote in a recent article that cites data from the Center for Responsive Politics.

January 14, 2011 | For more than two years, the Tea Party Express' political war chest has been filled with thousands of dollars in donations from a dead woman. How exactly Joan Holmes, who died in 2007, made $7,500 worth of donations from beyond the grave is shrouded in mystery: Both Lee Holmes, her husband, and a Tea Party Express official deny that they're responsible.

January 6, 2011 | President Barack Obama joked today that his new chief of staff, William Daley, has a "smidgen of awareness of how our system of government and politics works" and praised Daley, saying, "few Americans can boast the breadth of experience that Bill brings to this job." Obama is right: few Americans have Daley's political and corporate clout. And you can find details of Daley's past and present in OpenSecrets.org's revolving door database.

January 3, 2011 | In habitually partisan Washington, D.C., a bipartisan group of senators last week helped extend contentious federal tax provisions designed to aid domestic ethanol production. The senators mostly shared common ground on two fronts: geography and contributions from the political action committees of ethanol producers, high-profile ethanol promoters and the leading industry groups for corn, a Center for Responsive Politics analysis indicates.

December 27, 2010 | It's no secret that Rep. Ron Paul (R-Texas) and his similarly libertarian-leaning son, Sen.-elect Rand Paul (R-Ky.), are big fans of gold. But while both Pauls are advocates of using gold and silver to curb inflation of the dollar, it appears the elder Paul may be doing more to practice what he preaches.

December 22, 2010 | All told, $185,908 can buy you twelve days of access to everything from drummers to pear trees. And while giving your true love every item in the "12 Days of Christmas" song may cost a pretty penny, keep them on retainer every day of the year costs even more. The cost of the 12 firms and organizations advocating for these gifts so far this year has been $12.4 million, by the Center's calculations.

December 15, 2010 | The Center is determined to continue to hold elected officials accountable and defend transparency, but we need your help. This was a tough year financially, with a shortfall that threatens our ability to continue this work. The Center cannot shine light in government's darkest corners if we can't keep our own lights on!

December 8, 2010 | While being targeted by the government for consumer and corporate power abuses, Bank of America has spent millions of dollars attempting to woo state and federal officials through professional lobbying efforts and campaign contributions, an analysis by the Center for Responsive Politics finds. The company even has two corporate political action committees that target the levels of government differently.

December 7, 2010 | GM's corporate political action committee waited until July of this year -- 19 months after it first got government aid to continue its operations -- to begin contributing again to lawmakers. And the PAC has made 184 individual donations totaling more than $330,000 between July and Election Day, with 52 percent benefiting Republicans, according to a Center for Responsive Politics analysis of contributions to federal candidates, leadership PACs and party committees.

December 2, 2010 | In the closing stretch of the 2010 midterm elections, American Crossroads raised a staggering $3.8 million, according to a Center for Responsive Politics review of the group's "post-general" campaign finance report, which was filed with the Federal Election Commission Thursday. Since its founding in March, American Crossroads has now raised $28 million.

December 2, 2010 | Reps. Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) and John Boehner (R-Ohio) lawmakers have been in Congress for at least two decades, and have plenty influence to show for it. Political watchers are prepared for the rivals -- their positions switched -- to resume their sparring in January. OpenSecrets Blog, meanwhile, details who may have the key political advantages as the curtain opens on the 112th Congress.

November 19, 2010 | MSNBC's newest suspension victim is former Congressman Joe Scarborough (R-Fla.), the current co-host of the network's "Morning Joe" program. Scarborough's recent political contributions build upon a history of giving to Republican candidates.

November 17, 2010 | Despite a stubbornly sour national economy congressional members' personal wealth collectively increased by more than 16 percent between 2008 and 2009, according to a new study by the Center for Responsive Politics of federal financial disclosures released earlier this year.

November 9, 2010 | JPMorgan Chase, the $2 trillion bank and financial services firm, predicts that the newly Republican-controlled U.S. House will clash with the still-Democratic-controlled U.S. Senate to the point where progress on large legislation is completely halted, according to a confidential memorandum dated Nov. 3 and obtained by OpenSecrets Blog.

November 5, 2010 | The new conservative "super PAC" American Crossroads accounted for one-third of all spending by super PACs this election, the Center's research indicates. And American Crossroads itself nearly spent as much as all liberal-aligned super PACs combined.

November 4, 2010 | The priciest midterm election in U.S. history saw a Republican tide sweep numerous Democrats out of office, as voters anxious about the state of the economy ousted more House incumbents from office than any time since 1948. While several money-in-politics axioms held true, money was not a panacea for embattled politicians.

November 2, 2010 | In the final week before Election Day, several high profile labor unions spent hundreds of thousands -- or even upward of a million dollars -- in last-minute outside spending on congressional elections across the country, adding to unions' varied political activity this election cycle, according to a Center for Responsive Politics analysis of federal filings.

November 1, 2010 | In her re-election bid, sophomore Rep. Michele Bachmann (R-Minn.), the chair of the House Tea Party Caucus, has spent more than any other House candidate running for office this year. As of Oct. 13, she had spent a staggering $8.7 million -- that's one-and-a-half times as much as she spent in 2008 and nearly two-and-a-half times as much as she spent in 2006.

October 28, 2010 | According to a recent report by the Wesleyan Media Project, in 2010, "pro-Democratic ads focused on the personal characteristics of Republican candidates in 21 percent of their attack ads

October 27, 2010 | On Tuesday, nearly four dozen outside groups spent a staggering $38.2 million on independent expenditures across the country. It's one of the largest single influxes of outside money flowing into political ads this year, according to an analysis by the Center for Responsive Politics.

October 26, 2010 | Spending by outside groups may help determine the re-election chances of incumbent Republican Sen. Lisa Murkowski who's battling for her political life in the nation's Last Frontier.

October 24, 2010 | New York-based financial services firm JPMorgan Chase spent $2.74 million on federal lobbying from July through September this year, topping the list of big-spending commercial banks, according to a Center for Responsive Politics analysis of third-quarter federal lobbying reports, which were filed last week.

October 23, 2010 | Of the six individuals that gave $1 million or more to so-called 527 political committees in the third quarter, five gave to conservative groups and one donated to a non-partisan committee.

October 21, 2010 | Koch Industries, the massive petroleum-based conglomerate and perennial political heavy weight, continued to expand its role in the political arena, filling the coffers of federal candidates in September and spending more than $2 million on federal lobbying efforts during the year's third quarter.

October 21, 2010 | Reports covering all federal lobbying activities performed between July and September were filed with the House and Senate Wednesday, and the U.S. Chamber of Commerce -- one of the most vocal opponents of the Obama administration and Congressional Democrats -- continues to shell out tens of millions of dollars for lobbying expenditures.

October 21, 2010 | In just seven months, American Crossroads, the highest profile conservative "Super PAC," has raised more than $24.17 million* in the hopes of tilting the November midterm elections in favor of the Republican Party.

October 20, 2010 | In the run up to the 2010 midterm elections, Soros joins a handful of young, emerging political heavyweights, many of whom are related to other prolific political donors. And they're helping tip the scales toward Democrats in the competition for students' campaign cash, the Center's analysis indicates.

October 18, 2010 | As enthusiasm among conservatives surges, embattled Democrats may be placing their faith in the old Washington maxim that money delivers success on Election Day. That's because heading into the final weeks of the campaign season, Democrats -- not Republicans -- maintained a financial edge in the most competitive House races across the country, a Center for Responsive Politics analysis indicates.

October 14, 2010 | Only three-tenths of a percent of voting-age Americans donate money to campaigns, and historically, men donate much larger sums than women. But a Center for Responsive Politics analysis shows at least 20 cities are bucking the trend. And some in unconventional ways.

October 12, 2010 | Quick -- which "industry" has spent the most on the 2010 midterm elections? A cool $51 million from health professionals? Chump change. Maybe the $61 million from big banks? Not even close. Retired individuals have already spent more than $98 million on federal elections this cycle...

October 7, 2010 | Thirteen Tea Party-backed Republicans want the U.S. Senate to experience a new brand of political brew after November 2. The question isn't whether they will or won't, but rather, how many of them will be in office? And donations from people making modest campaign contributions appear poised to play an integral role in propelling them into office.

October 7, 2010 | These ZIP codes share a common and commanding distinction: They're the most politically generous in their respective U.S. states, power centers boasting outrageously out-sized clout given their tiny sizes.

October 6, 2010 | Most political candidates raise their campaign cash in conventional ways: Calling voters, wooing donors, knocking on doors, and lately, collecting online donations. Or, a political hopeful can own a professional basketball team, make billions of dollars through credit default swaps or serve as chief executive of a wrestling entertainment empire.

October 1, 2010 | Forget Christmas, candidates know this is the season for giving. With just a month until the midterm elections, campaign cash collecting has shifted into high gear. Politico reported that members or candidates for the House and Senate will be having 400 fundraisers in a mere 14 days.

September 29, 2010 | In a congressional election cycle marked by continued economic strife and high unemployment, out-of-state campaign contributions are padding war chests for both incumbents and challengers across the country, according to a Center for Responsive Politics analysis of campaign finance filings.

September 28, 2010 | Heading into the final stretch of the 2010 election, six House incumbents -- five Democrats and one Republican -- have less money left in their campaign coffers than their best-funded challengers, according to a Center for Responsive Politics review of the campaign finance reports filed with the Federal Election Commission.

September 28, 2010 | Incumbency is a monumental obstacle to overcome for any political challenger. But 11 congressional challengers -- nine Republicans and two Democrats -- have managed to raise more money than their incumbent rivals, a Center for Responsive Politics analysis found.

September 27, 2010 | Ahead of the November election, top 20 House beneficiaries of the people and political action committees associated with the finance, insurance and real estate sector have together collected more than $16.2 million from Wall Street interests since January 2009. Meanwhile, the Senate candidates and sitting senators to receive the most from Wall Street interests raked in more than $41.3 million since January 2005 -- the beginning of their six-year election cycle.

September 20, 2010 | Whether you call it a "527 committee," an "independent expenditure-only committee" or a "super PAC," the conservative outfit American Crossroads continued to demonstrate its fund-raising prowess in August.

September 16, 2010 | The trade association for eye doctors has made a six-figure media buy to boost the fortunes of a New York Republican whose political fate may help determine whether the GOP seizes control of the U.S. House. The political action committee of the American Academy of Ophthalmology on Wednesday reported a cable television advertisement buy to the tune of $141,300 -- the group's largest independent expenditure to date this election cycle.

September 5, 2010 | After many moons of financial second-fiddledom, national Democratic political committees find their fortunes waxing during the final weeks before crucial midterm elections in which Republicans hope to recapture numerous congressional seats.

August 31, 2010 | A barrage of independent expenditures from a group operated by a deep-pocketed New Orleans trial lawyer couldn't deflate the candidacy of state Rep. Cedric Richmond, who, on Saturday, won the Democratic Party nomination to vie for the congressional seat occupied by Rep. Joseph Cao (R-La.).

August 24, 2010 | Congressional members' vehicles are hardly created equal when it comes to how much you, as a taxpayer, are subsidizing them. What's equally unequal: How much information members of the U.S. House of Representatives are willing to reveal about the wheels you're providing them.

August 9, 2010 | Angle, to date, hasn't raised a dime from any corporate PAC, but according to a Center for Responsive Politics analysis, she has taken at least $8,900 from leaders of companies known to offer employee benefits to same-sex spouses or that operate in jurisdictions that recognize marriage between same-sex couples.

July 30, 2010 | A Center for Responsive Politics analysis shows that the biggest contributors to the 49 members of the newly-established congressional Tea Party caucus -- it so far includes only Republican -- are health professionals, retired individuals, the real estate industry and oil and gas interests.
Furthermore, donations from health professionals, oil and gas interests and Republican and conservative groups are, on average, higher for Tea Party caucus members than for members of the House of Representatives in general and even their fellow House Republicans.

July 29, 2010 | While some organizations dramatically reduced their investments in federal lobbying during this year's second quarter, others paid out more in fees to lobbyists than during any other quarter since President Barack Obama took office in January 2009, according to a Center for Responsive Politics review of reports filed with the U.S. Senate and U.S. House last week.

July 23, 2010 | Reports released Thursday by two major Washington, D.C. publications are highlighting the extent of the oil and gas industry's political influence, which has increased in the wake of the BP oil leak in the Gulf of Mexico.

July 21, 2010 | In June, the sole beneficiary of Goldman Sachs was House Majority Whip Rep. James Clyburn (D-S.C.), to whom the PAC cut a $5,000 check on June 8, according to a Center for Responsive Politics review of campaign finance documents filed Tuesday.

July 21, 2010 | Although Pullen has already filed amended reports, possible fines could put a dent in the RNC's war chest as the midterm elections approach. The RNC has also retained former FEC chairman Michael Toner as outside counsel. Toner has a history as a lobbyist and counsel to Republican campaigns, in addition to his six year stint at the FEC.

July 19, 2010 | Sen. Russ Feingold (D-Wis.) voted against the Democrats' Wall Street reform bill because he thought it wasn't strong enough to prevent another economic meltdown. Feingold was in a position to stand up to Wall Street like few other senators. Contributions from the finance, insurance and real estate sector account for just 3.75 percent of Feingold's overall contributions over his career. Just two other senators have relied less on money from the financial sector.

July 15, 2010 | NEWT 2012?: Former Republican House Speaker Newt Gingrich has been quietly laying the foundation necessary for a 2012 election bid. On Monday, Gingrich told the Associated Press that he was considering running for president in 2012, a notion that seems entirely possible after his political groups recently reported that they raised nearly $3.5 million in the past three months.

July 13, 2010 | Twenty-eight members of Congress and congressional candidates have received at least $100,000 from lobbyists during the first five quarters of the 2010 election cycle, a Center for Responsive Politics analysis shows.

June 25, 2010 | At 5:39 a.m., after 20 straight hours of work, a House-Senate conference committee tasked to reconcile the differences between the House and Senate versions of the financial reform bill cleared congressional negotiations and is now headed back to the House and Senate for final votes.

June 15, 2010 | If Rep. Bob Etheridge (D-N.C.) ultimately finds himself crosswise with the law after last week roughing up a self-described student journalist on a Washington, D.C., street, he'll also face this political curiosity: the American Association for Justice is his single greatest career campaign donor, a Center for Responsive Politics analysis indicates.

June 11, 2010 | The Center for Responsive Politics has added six new organizations to our list of "Heavy Hitters," the organizations spending the most to influence policy and politics over the years. More than 100 corporations, trade associations, unions and other groups are contained on this list.

June 11, 2010 | Lobbyists for the financial services industry enjoy longstanding ties to the members of Congress who were named this week to the conference committee on financial reform legislation, according to a joint analysis of available data released today by Public Citizen and the Center for Responsive Politics.

June 3, 2010 | Organizations in the financial services sector have deployed at least 1,447 former federal employees to lobby Congress and federal agencies since the beginning of 2009, according to a joint analysis of federal disclosure records and other data released today by Public Citizen and the Center for Responsive Politics.

May 24, 2010 | Senators who voted against the sweeping financial regulatory reform bill Thursday have received about 16 percent more money from the finance, insurance and real estate sector over their careers than senators who supported the measure, according to a Center for Responsive Politics analysis.

May 19, 2010 | DERIVATIVES BATTLE: In a rather startling, but maybe not surprising report, the nonprofit advocacy group, Public Citizen, contends that since the beginning of 2009, financial industry lobbyists have opposed a controversial overhaul of derivatives regulation by a ratio of 11-to-1.

May 17, 2010 | HOOSIER NOMINEE: The Democratic Party of Indiana officially nominated Blue Dog Rep. Brad Ellsworth Saturday to be their party's nominee in the race to fill the Senate seat of retiring Democratic Sen. Evan Bayh. Ellsworth has about $960,000 cash on hand, including large sums from lawyers, lobbyists, labor unions and leadership PACs.

May 10, 2010 | In what Tea Party advocates are calling a coup for their cause, Utah Republicans on Saturday declined to advance sitting U.S. Sen. Robert Bennett to a party primary, effectively ending the 76-year-old lawmaker's career in electoral politics come January.

April 29, 2010 | Hoards of hired K Street guns are in high demand as President Barack Obama and congressional Democrats seek to implement grand legislative plans. And a Center for Responsive Politics review of recently filed lobbying reports indicates companies, trade associations, unions and other groups spent nearly $1 billion on lobbying during the first three months of 2010.

April 21, 2010 | As President Barack Obama works with the Democratic Congress to advance his ambitious legislative priorities, lobbying efforts by special interest groups continue unabated. Lobbying reports for the first three months of 2010 were due to the Clerk of the House and Secretary of the Senate by midnight last night, and a preliminary Center for Responsive Politics analysis of these reports show many major players continuing to shell out big dollars on their lobbying operations.

April 20, 2010 | Government allegations that financial giant Goldman Sachs defrauded investors are creating a political storm, with some lawmakers hoping that the civil lawsuit filed Friday by the Securities and Exchange Commission is just the beginning.

April 19, 2010 | Who knew the Formaldehyde Council was a K street regular? For the past 10 years, the Environmental Protection Agency has been trying to change the classification of formaldehyde from a "probable" to a "known" carcinogen. However, the agency has encountered relentless opposition throughout the process.

April 15, 2010 | TAX CUTS & TAX FORMS: Today is Tax Day, and the Obama administration and congressional Democrats have been touting the many measures in the Recovery Act designed to cut taxes for more than 100 million Americans. Before this piece of legislation was signed into law, about 2,000 companies, trade associations and other organizations reported lobbying on it.

April 8, 2010 | They aren't old enough to legally buy a beer. They can't vote or join the Army, and they can barely get a driver's license. But they are operating federally registered political action committees.

March 11, 2010 | How do former Rep. Eric Massa's legion of bankrollers, who supported him during times less lascivious, feel about his sex scandal? Alternately disappointed and angry, with an undercurrent of bamboozlement.

March 2, 2010 | As Democrats try not to let political turbulence slim their ranks and Republicans focus on winning back the majority, money continues to pour into campaign coffers. Big-money congressional races are often in competitive states or districts that could wind up flipping for Republican or Democratic, a Center for Responsive Politics review of campaign finance reports through the end of 2009 shows.

February 22, 2010 | WHITE HOUSE, REPUBLICANS READY FOR HEALTH CARE SHOWDOWN: President Barack Obama is slated to today release text of a broad "starting point" for a televised health care reform summit later this week with congressional Republicans. Any good reason to think that lobbyists won't be hard at work, too, as politicians attempt to restart all-but-dormant reform efforts?

February 4, 2010 | MONEY IN MIAMI: Democratic senators and K Street lobbyists hit the beach over the weekend at the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee retreat at the Ritz-Carlton South Beach Resort, an event with the purpose of raising money for Democratic Senate candidates in the 2010 election.

February 1, 2010 | In a scene more reminiscent of the United Kingdom's Prime Minister's Questions session, the Right Honourable President Barack Obama traveled to Baltimore to -- wait for it -- serve as the featured speaker at a retreat for Republican House of Representative members.

January 28, 2010 | President Barack Obama, standing before a full session of Congress within the U.S. Capitol, accused the U.S. Supreme Court of opening "the floodgates for special interests -- including foreign corporations" through its 5-4 ruling last week in the case Citizens United v. Federal Election Commission. A visably agitated Justice Samuel Alito, sitting just feet away from Obama as he delivered the presidential State of the Union address, shook his head, made a face and appeared to mouth "simply not true."

January 27, 2010 | The past year proved to be a legislative whirlwind in Washington, with a new administration, and expanded Democratic majorities in Congress, tackling an ambitious legislative agenda against the backdrop of two wars and an economic meltdown. Twelve months later, the story is much the same.

January 22, 2010 | CITIZENS UNITED AFTERMATH: The Center for Responsive Politics has served as a trusted resource in the wake of the U.S. Supreme Court's ruling in its high stakes campaign finance case, Citizens United v. Federal Election Commission. Dozens of journalists have called us and scores of reports have cited our data.

January 21, 2010 | Corporations, trade associations, unions and nonprofit groups still aren't allowed to make direct contributions to federal politicians, but today, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled that such groups may now spend unlimited amounts of money advocating for or against politicians. In doing do, the Supreme Court, led by Justice Anthony Kennedy, tossed out the distinction between individuals and corporations and their ilk when it comes to independent expenditures.

January 21, 2010 | Will Sen. Chris Dodd crack under pressure from the financial industry and opponents in Congress and drop the idea to create the independent Consumer Financial Protection Agency as part of financial regulatory reform legislation?

December 21, 2009 | This week's PolitiQuizz targets a veteran member of Congress who's buddies with doctors -- you know, those folks save lives, treat illnesses and have spent tens of millions of dollars this year lobbying the federal government on health care reform.

December 16, 2009 | JUST SAY NO TO (CANADIAN) DRUGS: Drug makers spending a bazillion dollars to lobby the federal government? Shocker! The pharmaceutical and health products industry is only the year's top industry, in terms of lobbying dollars spent, among the 121 different industries we track.

December 15, 2009 | OBAMA & WALL STREET FAT CATS: As Congress pushes through legislation aimed at reforming Wall Street and regulating risky trading products, President Barack Obama is pushing the top executives to get on board with new changes to their industry and increase lending to small businesses.

December 10, 2009 | OY VEY! ORRIN HATCH SINGS JEWS PRAISES, BUT JEWS DON'T ALWAYS DIG HIS POLITICS: Sen. Orrin Hatch so loves Jews that the very Mormon politico from decidedly un-Jewish Utah has written a song -- yes, a song -- to help celebrate Hanukkah.

December 3, 2009 | Insurance giant AIG's political clout is waning as fast as its finances. Since its near-collapse and government bailout last fall, AIG disbanded its lobbying team. It hasn't donated a dollar from its political action committee this year. Furthermore, contributions from individual AIG employees since January are merely a sliver of what they've been in previous cycles -- although a few notable politicians retain financial or political ties to the embattled company. Among these lawmakers is Sen. Chris Dodd (D-Conn.), the chairman of the Senate Banking Committee, who pledged to return contributions from AIG employees who got post-bailout bonuses but has nonetheless retained tens of thousands of dollars from them given before the bailout.

December 2, 2009 | SCROOGED! LOBBYISTS PUT HOLIDAY PARTIES ON ICE: Without a windfall of cash compiled on the backs of elfin slave labor, and facing grinchy federal lobbying rules, lobbyists are axing holiday parties like a lumberjack in a forest of douglas firs.

November 30, 2009 | Legislation aimed at regulating the securities and investment industry is as complex as the industry itself. But the trade groups representing these interests all seem to have at least one thing in common: they fear additional government regulation will damage their business, which especially concerns them given the ailing economy.

November 23, 2009 | Sen. Chris Dodd (D-Conn.) chairs the powerful Senate Committee on Banking, Housing and Urban Affairs. Dodd is now spearheading new efforts to tackle financial sector regulatory reform. Over the past 20 years, Dodd's most generous campaign supporter has also been the finance, insurance and real estate sector, which is filled with companies directly affected by legislation shepherded by the Banking Committee.

November 20, 2009 | Sen. Robert Bennett (R-Utah) originally supported of the Troubled Asset Relief Program (TARP) enacted by President George W. Bush in October 2008. He later opposed the second TARP authorization under President Barack Obama, and he now believes that the TARP program has served its purpose and should expire at the end of this year.

November 19, 2009 | The various companies and trade groups within the finance and credit industry have contributed about $62.4 million to federal candidates, committees and leadership PACs since 1989, with 62 percent of that sum going to Republicans. In the 2008 election cycle, however, the employees and political action committees of these organizations directed a majority of their money to Democrats for the first time since the 1990 election.

November 19, 2009 | Although Bachus isn't new to the House Financial Services Committee, he's relatively new to the committee's ranking member position, which he assumed in 2007. Since 1992, employees and political action committees associated with the financial sector have given Bachus $4 million -- exponentially more than any other sector during that time.

November 18, 2009 | As chairman of the House Financial Services Committee, Barney Frank is busy this year in ways he may not have expected when he assumed the post in 2007, just before the country's economy slipped into a recession. Frank's promotion from ranking member of the House Financial Services Committee to chairman helped earn him about 37 percent more from the industries footing his campaign bills compared to the 2006 election cycle.

November 17, 2009 | Viewed as a champion of regulatory reform, Sen. Jack Reed (D-R.I.) is an advocate of new regulations regarding financial markets, products and institutions -- including new regulation regarding credit derivatives, "dark pool" markets and hedge funds. Within the Banking Committee, he is chairman of the securities, insurance and investment subcommittee.

November 16, 2009 | As the United States continues digging itself out of a recession, the nation is poised to re-emerge in a dramatically altered financial climate. And after years of enjoying relatively little regulation, commercial banks, credit companies, hedge funds and securities and investment companies are facing the most extensive overhaul by the federal government since the Great Depression. Over the next seven days, Capital Eye will be following the special interest money in our "Crossing Wall Street" series as both the House and Senate tackle financial regulation.

November 16, 2009 | Congress often acts as a type of bank for bankers themselves -- a place executives can direct their cash, perhaps hoping to collect interest in the form of a legislative favor. The interest rate on that premium appears to be low these days, however, as commercial banks could face a sweeping regulatory overhaul in the coming months.

November 16, 2009 | Name: Sen. Richard Shelby (R-Ala.). Positions: A fifth-generation Alabamian and University of Alabama alumnus, state loyalty flows through Shelby's crimson blood. So do conservative politics. Party loyalty is another matter.

November 9, 2009 | Attorney Roxanne Conlin today announced her intention to run for the U.S. Senate seat held by Chuck Grassley (R-Iowa), providing the veteran lawmaker with some notable and potentially well-financed competition. With a strong pedigree in Iowa politics, she brings supporters with deep pockets, and the ability to draw on her own personal wealth. A CRP analysis shows that Conlin, and her husband, James, have contributed nearly $360,000 to federal candidates and committees over the past 20 years.

November 4, 2009 | Even members of Congress – many among the country's richest people -- aren't impervious to the nation's economic recession. Current congressional members' median wealth uncharacteristically dropped nearly 5 percent in 2008 when compared to the prior year, a Center for Responsive Politics analysis of federal personal financial disclosure reports indicates.

November 4, 2009 | It's not, politically speaking, morning again in America for Republicans. At least not yet. Democrats, oh, still have the Senate, the House and the White House. But man, if you're a member of the GOP faithful, here's a poster for you on what's bound to be an awfully good day today.

November 2, 2009 | SCOTUS WATCH: The United States Supreme Court is poised to overhaul laws that govern how companies may spend political cash and that decision could come as early as tomorrow. A study by watchdog group Common Cause uses data from CRP to examine the potential repercussions of Citizens United v. Federal Election Commission if the court decides to allow corporate political spending.

October 30, 2009 | 2009 is on pace to be another bumper year for lobbyists. During the third quarter, corporations, unions, trade associations and other special interests spent $849 million on federal lobbying, bringing the year-to-date total to $2.5 billion. Perhaps not surprisingly, the sectors that could be affected most by the Obama administration's domestic agenda -- particularly health, business and energy -- have been some of the biggest spenders over the course of the year.

October 29, 2009 | At least 44 lawmakers have left their congressional seats mid-term since 1990, and at least 16 of them went on to work at lobbying firms or at companies that hired lobbyists, CRP has found. Here, we take a closer look at a few of these individuals, examining which industries and clients they're now representing and the campaign cash they received while in Congress.

October 29, 2009 | BCRA IMPACTING PREZ FUND-RAISING BLITZ?: President Barack Obama has now clocked 26 fund-raisers since his inauguration. President George W. Bush, by comparison, at this point in his presidency, had logged only six fund-raising events. According to CBS' Mark Knoller, there's another dimension to the picture: In Bush's first six fundraisers, he was able to raise $48 million, while Obama has raised just $21 million over the course of the first 21 events.

October 16, 2009 | A LIBERTARIAN STREAK IN WHOLE FOODS: John Mackey, the CEO of Whole Foods recently told Reason TV that he voted for Libertarian Bob Barr in the 2008 presidential election. According to a Center for Responsive Politics analysis, Mackey's sole contributions to federal candidates and committees have been to Libertarians -- totaling $6,500 between 1996 and 2000.

October 15, 2009 | Republican members of the House last week attempted to oust Rep. Charles Rangel (D-N.Y.) from his powerful chairmanship of the House Ways & Means Committee for the duration of a House Ethics Committee investigation into alleged ethical misconduct surrounding his real estate investments and dubious personal financial disclosure reports. And although the effort failed and Rangel can sit tight for now, signs that he's sustained political damage are emerging.

October 14, 2009 | The House Financial Services Committee today begins marking up a bill that would create a new consumer protection agency and increase regulation of a number of financial products. Even as members of the committee consider how to prevent another economic collapse, they may have another financial issue in mind -- the industries opposing the measure have contributed $77.6 million to the 71 members of the committee since 1989.

October 7, 2009 | CASTLE ON A (SENATE) CLOUD: Rep. Mike Castle (R-Del.) announced yesterday that he intends to run for the Senate seat left vacant by Vice President Joe Biden, turning the race into "one of the top races in the country," said National Republican Senatorial Committee chairman John Cornyn (R-Texas), according to The Hill. Cornyn also hinted that the race would be expensive.

September 29, 2009 | PROGRESSIVES PRESSURE SENATE FINANCE COMMITTEE MEMBERS: The Senate Finance Committee resumes its work today marking up its health care reform legislative proposal. At the same time, the Progressive Change Campaign Committee and Democracy for America have launched a new ad against Chairman Max Baucus (D-Mont.), encouraging him to support a public health insurance option.

September 22, 2009 | MOTIVE: POLITICAL FUNDRAISING?: Hassan Nemazee, head of a private equity firm, has been indicted for defrauding Bank of America and HSBC, adding to his indictment for defrauding Citigroup. Nemazee and his family have raised $824,500 total for at least 75 lawmakers since 1993, including President Barack Obama ($13,800), Secretary of State Hillary Clinton ($33,500) and Vice President Joe Biden ($23,700) of Massachusetts.

September 11, 2009 | SLAP ME SILLY: Say you're a California assemblyman. And your name is Mike Duvall. And you hope to win re-election. And you're married. And you want to stay married. Then, please heed this advice: Make sure to reveal your love for spanking lobbyists with whom you're apparently having affairs while television cameras are not rolling.

September 4, 2009 | Five of the nation's largest commercial banks stand to earn $35 billion on derivatives contracts this year -- but only if they get their way. To ensure that federal legislation won't kill their chance of collecting that cash, they're pouring money into campaign contributions and lobbying efforts.

September 2, 2009 | The death of Sen. Edward Kennedy (D-Mass.) has left Democratic lawmakers scrambling to fill his seat in the midst of intense debate over one of Kennedy's highest legislative priorities -- health care reform. We thought we'd take a look at some of the possible candidates and how their fundraising compares to that of the late senator.

August 28, 2009 | TED KENNEDY'S ROSTER OF A-LIST STAFFERS: Sen. Ted Kennedy, who died Tuesday, leaves behind current and former staffers who are among Washington's most experienced, reports the Washington Post's Philip Rucker. Indeed, that doesn't only apply to the public sector, as former Kennedy staffers have historically flocked to the private sector to become lobbyists, our research indicates. Among them: Former Kennedy counsel Tony Podesta, who now runs notable lobbying firm Podesta Group.

August 20, 2009 | It's a glorious time to be a Democrat if you're hoping for some serious advocacy action from the nation's monied liberal establishments. Through the first half of 2009, left-leaning political action committees have obliterated their right-leaning competition in spending, a Center for Responsive Politics analysis of federal campaign finance data indicates.

August 13, 2009 | Two of Washington, D.C.'s most reliable and respected nonpartisan watchdogs joined forces today and released a comprehensive database linking campaign contributions with earmarked spending by lawmakers.

July 29, 2009 | From families to cities to businesses, a terrifically awful national economy is causing most everyone to crimp their spending. Financial institutions and real estate firms, some financially marginalized to the brink of insolvency or beyond, are no exception, particularly when it comes to their government lobbying efforts.

July 23, 2009 | With deficit worries gripping Washington, lawmakers including House Education and Labor Committee Chairman George Miller (D-Calif.) and Rep. Thomas Petri (R-Wis.) have proposed cutting taxpayer subsidies to private institutions that issue student loans. But groups such as Sallie Mae are spending big money in opposition to such proposals.

July 21, 2009 | Since Democrats swept into congressional power in the 2006 midterm elections, many industries -- including some that traditionally back Republicans -- have either begun to contribute to both parties equally or favor Democrats outright. The chief executive officer of JPMorgan Chase, however, never had to make any shift. Jamie Dimon happens to be a long-time man of the left.

July 16, 2009 | The securities and investment industry may be the 13th-heaviest spender on lobbyists. And the two institutions under fire this morning, Bank of America and Merrill Lynch, both make the top 100 list of all-time contributors in federal politics. But lawmakers on the House Oversight panel have received little of their money.

July 14, 2009 | Republicans–shocker–are itching to ditch him. So is a member of his own Democratic party. But U.S. Sen. Christopher Dodd, (D-Conn.), will nonetheless report that he's raised $1.2 million during the year's second quarter, various news outlets are reporting.

July 9, 2009 | If you've been following the money in the health care debate with us for the last month, you've probably got a pretty good sense now where it leads. As Congress continues debating the issue, we thought we'd make it even easier for you to keep track of the money by comparing the views of the big industries involved and some of the key players in each industry.

July 9, 2009 | Despite raising millions of dollars from the insurance and financial services industry during their careers, Sens. Chris Dodd (D-Conn.) and Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) rank among the Senate's most vocal champions of the public health insurance option.

July 2, 2009 | As chief executive of America's Health Insurance Plans, Karen Ignagni has emerged as a central figure in the debate over health care reform. And like many other registered lobbyists, Ignagni has extended her influence and connections by opening her wallet to political candidates.

June 18, 2009 | Health care reform could be the insurance industry's greatest nightmare or sweetest dream, depending on the fate of some of the most sweeping proposals. And insurers are hoping that the $765.2 million* they've spent on lobbying since 1998 will pay off now.

June 10, 2009 | Although the economy didn't show many signs of improvement in the first few months of 2009, Democrats were benefiting more from Wall Street than they had in any previous cycle, pulling in 58 percent of all contributions that the finance, insurance and real estate sector gave between January and March.

June 9, 2009 | As the economic crisis continued during the first three months of 2009, many institutions in the powerful finance, insurance and real estate sector have scaled back on contributions to lawmakers, CRP has found.

June 3, 2009 | According to a new WSJ analysis that uses CRP data, during the first three months of 2009, 31 financial groups spent a combined $27.6 million on lobbying and gave $286,000 in campaign contributions to lawmakers tasked with the oversight of the accounting rules they are hoping to amend.

May 28, 2009 | U.S. presidents have long rewarded big campaign donors, fundraisers and other loyalists with ambassadorships, and Democratic President Barack Obama seems to be no exception. The list of individuals he has announced he will be nominating to ambassadorships around the globe include several big contributors and bundlers.

May 5, 2009 | A Senate Commerce subcommittee hearing tomorrow will take a look at the future of newspapers and what, if anything, Congress can do to help the struggling industry. But journalists are at a disadvantage compared to other industries that can give campaign contributions and aren't publicly scrutinizing the lawmakers.

April 30, 2009 | Although the lobbying industry doesn't seem to have taken a hit in the first three months of 2009 compared to the same time last year, recipients of cash from the federal government's Troubled Asset Relief Program (TARP) handed out less money to lobbyists than they had in any quarter of 2008.

March 25, 2009 | Even as he deals with his own health challenges, as chair of the Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee, Sen. Edward Kennedy (D-Mass.) has committed himself to focusing on improving the quality and accessibility of American health care. Kennedy's interest in the country's health care issues has brought him money from various health-related industries.

March 16, 2009 | As long as everyone's talking today about AIG's payouts to its executives and foreign banks, let's remember the payouts AIG has made over the years to politicians. In the last 20 years American International Group (AIG) has contributed more than $9 million to federal candidates and parties through PAC and individual contributions.

March 5, 2009 | At 27, Rep. Nick Rahall (D-W.V.) was the youngest member of the first Congress he served in, landing spots on the Interior and Public Works committees in his first term in 1976. Now, as chair of the House Natural Resources Committee (formerly the Interior Committee) and the No. 2 Democrat on the House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee (formerly Public Works), he's got the support of transportation unions, the mining industry and oil and gas companies.

March 2, 2009 | The FBI hasn't been the only group continuing to investigate lobbying firm PMA Group, which specializes in securing federal earmarks for its clients. At the Center for Responsive Politics, we've expanded our original analysis of contributions from the lobbying firm to lawmakers, specifically those on the House Defense Appropriations Subcommittee, to include contributions from PMA's clients, as well.

February 25, 2009 | OpenSecrets.org has many, many resources for anyone interested in following the money as Washington policymakers craft their solution to the shakeout that continues on Wall Street. Here's a handy guide to what we've got online.

February 25, 2009 | Since August 2008, when the economic crisis started making headlines and companies began asking lawmakers for some financial help in the form of billions of dollars, CRP has been taking a look at the political influence of companies and industries looking for a government lifeline. This archive contains what we've produced as we follow the money behind the Wall Street shakeout and the government's attempts to jump-start the economy.

February 19, 2009 | Swiss bank UBS AG agreed today to pay $780 million to settle claims by the U.S. Department of Treasury that it helped American customers evade paying taxes by hiding their Swiss bank accounts from U.S. tax authorities. But that's not the only help that UBS has provided Americans. In the 2008 election cycle, the foreign bank contributed $3.1 million to federal candidates, parties and PACs.

February 17, 2009 | Money manager Robert Allen Stanford now has two things in common with embattled investment manager Bernard Madoff: both have come under scrutiny for allegedly defrauding their investors, and both have given significant funds to politicians. Between its PAC and its employees, Stanford Financial Group has given $2.4 million to federal candidates, parties and committees since 2000.

February 10, 2009 | The eight CEOs testifying Wednesday before the House Financial Services Committee about how their companies are using billions of dollars in bailout funds may find that the hot seat is merely lukewarm. Nearly every member of the committee received contributions associated with these financial institutions during the 2008 election cycle, for a total of $1.8 million.

February 4, 2009 | The companies that have been awarded taxpayers' money from Congress's bailout bill spent $77 million on lobbying and $37 million on federal campaign contributions, CRP has found. The return on investment: 258,449 percent.

February 2, 2009 | Robert Kaiser, author of the new book "So Damn Much Money: The Triumph of Lobbying and the Corrosion of American Government" and an associate editor of the Washington Post, used data from CRP in a Post essay Friday, arguing that lobbyists and special interests giving campaign contributions have excessive power over Washington, exploiting "public service for private gain."

January 30, 2009 | Fixing the economy is a huge undertaking for the 111th Congress, and any measures to cut or raise taxes will have to win the approval of the House Ways and Means Committee, which Rep. Charles Rangel (D-N.Y.) has chaired since 2007. This position has made Rangel a magnet for cash from the finance, insurance and real estate sector.

January 29, 2009 | While companies across the board were losing record amounts of money and laying off employees last year, at least one industry seemed to weather the recession: lobbying. Special interests paid Washington lobbyists $3.2 billion in 2008, more than any other year on record and a 13.7 percent increase from 2007, CRP has found. Corporations in the finance, insurance and real estate sector and automotive industry actually slowed or decreased their lobbying spending overall last year, relying instead on trade associations to represent them.

January 28, 2009 | New members of Congress are worth $1 million more than the average incumbent, CRP has found after analyzing the lawmakers' personal financial disclosure reports. As they make decisions about the economy, freshmen and incumbents are heavily invested in the struggling financial sector.

January 27, 2009 | Although Sen. Chris Dodd (D-Conn.) is chair of one of the more powerful congressional committees, he probably isn't the envy of his peers these days with an economic crisis growing larger by the day. Dodd has put in two years as chair of the Senate Committee on Banking, Housing and Urban Affairs and is now charged with shaping legislation to jump-start the economy and help floundering companies, including those that have contributed to his campaigns.

January 23, 2009 | As chair of the Senate Finance Committee, Sen. Max Baucus, D-Mont., is a target for campaign contributions from Wall Street and the health sector. He's outlined his own vision for health care reform and his committee will have to decide if the overhaul is fiscally possible.

January 22, 2009 | Rep. Barney Frank, D-Mass., continues his role as chair of the House Financial Services Committee this year in the midst of an economic recession. But the money he's received from the finance sector hasn't won his unconditional support of doling out bailout cash to floundering companies.

January 13, 2009 | As the chair of the defense appropriations subcommittee, Sen. Daniel Inouye (D-Hawaii) has been a popular target for the defense industry's campaign contributions. Capital Eye analyzes the money behind the lawmaker who recently replaced Sen. Robert Byrd (D-W.Va.) as chair of the entire Senate Appropriations Committee.

December 10, 2008 | Weeks before they turned to the federal government for rescue, companies such as AIG, Ford, Citigroup and Freddie Mac were among the biggest sponsors of the summertime political conventions that nominated Barack Obama and John McCain for president, according to a new analysis by the nonpartisan Center for Responsive Politics, in collaboration with the Campaign Finance Institute.

December 2, 2008 | With a filibuster-proof majority in sight, Democrats are aggressively trying to win Georgia's Senate seat in today's hotly contested runoff--and Republicans are aggressively trying to fend them off. Interest groups allied with each party are also banking on the outcome of the race and have bolstered the amount they're spending on ads.

November 21, 2008 | The Center for Responsive Politics is pleased to announce that Kristin Schaaf, a freelance writer from Altoona, Iowa, is the winner of OpenSecrets.org's second Citizen Journalism Contest, which asked: "Did campaign contributions and lobbying by the financial sector contribute to the meltdown on Wall Street?"

November 21, 2008 | The surge of activity in the nation's capital to revive the country's economy apparently hasn't caused a torrent of lobbying funds by the insurance companies, investment banks, mortgage companies and savings and loans central to the government's actions. While unions, companies and organizations across all industries increased their lobbying expenditures 2 percent in the 3rd Quarter of this year compared to the first three months of 2008, the finance, insurance and real estate sector apparently scaled back, decreasing its spending by 9 percent.

November 20, 2008 | Why, when Wall Street took the fast lane to grab its share of $700 billion in federal bailout funds, does the auto industry seem stuck in neutral? The carmakers' campaign contributions to Congress suggest one reason: Most lawmakers, especially those on the finance committees that heard this week from pleading GM, Ford and Chrysler executives, don't owe much payback to Detroit.

October 22, 2008 | The 2008 election for president and Congress is not only one of the most closely watched U.S. elections in years; it's also the most expensive in history. The nonpartisan Center for Responsive Politics estimates that more than $5.3 billion will go toward financing the federal contests upcoming on Nov. 4.

October 16, 2008 | An economic recession is looking increasingly likely, but the personal finances of members of Congress suggest they will be able to withstand the slowdown far better than most Americans, according to a new analysis of lawmakers' latest personal financial reports by the nonpartisan Center for Responsive Politics.

October 15, 2008 | Former Senate Majority Leader Trent Lott (R-Miss.) continues his spin through the revolving door between the public and private sector with his decision to accept a position on the board of the North American arm of the European Aeronautic Defense and Space Company.

October 9, 2008 | Not at all to the chagrin of oil and gas companies (and lawmakers who have received campaign donations from them), Wall Street is the new black for congressional candidates looking to link their opponents to an unpopular industry. As federal lawmakers have wrestled with an economic bailout plan worth $700 billion, candidates who have received contributions from the financial sector are on the defensive. Find out which candidates are filling their war chests with money from the finance sector in Capital Eye's final installment of Races to Watch.

October 2, 2008 | Like reading tea leaves, one way to predict how a congressional race is going to go is by looking at the disparity in fundraising between the candidates. So far this election cycle, 280 House and Senate incumbents on November's ballot have collected at least 10 times more than the opponent they face in the general election. In this installment of Races to Watch, Capital Eye looks into why some of these incumbents have been such successful fundraisers.

October 1, 2008 | More than a quarter of the money raised by congressional candidates on the November ballot has come from business and labor PACs, not from individual donors, according to the nonpartisan Center for Responsive Politics. Capital Eye has profiled some races where labor union and business PAC money is playing the largest role.

September 30, 2008 | Registered lobbyists aren't just getting the attention of lawmakers while on the job. Like any other member of the public, they, too, are able to contribute up to the maximum amount per election to candidates of their choice. The Center for Responsive Politics has identified the congressional races with candidates who are receiving the most money from registered lobbyists.

September 29, 2008 | Members of the House of Representatives who supported bailing out the financial sector with $700 billion in taxpayer money have received 51 percent more in campaign contributions from the finance, insurance and real estate sector in their congressional careers than those who opposed the emergency legislation, the nonpartisan Center for Responsive Politics calculated following the 228-205 vote on Monday that defeated the House bill.

September 29, 2008 | The oil and gas industry, under the spotlight this fall with energy at the forefront of political discourse, isn't hesitating to put some of its record profits into the hands of candidates who support its cause (or those it's seeking to convert). So far this election cycle, the oil and gas industry has given $12.3 million total to congressional candidates. The nonpartisan Center for Responsive Politics has identified the candidates who have received the most money from oil and gas interests in this election cycle, and Capital Eye selected a few races to more deeply examine the impact of well-digger dollars on politics.

September 29, 2008 | Barack Obama defended his decision not to accept public financing by arguing that running a campaign for the White House based on small contributions accomplishes what the public financing system aims to do but falls short of doing: curb the influence of outside interest groups. In many congressional races, the issue of who's backing the candidate--wealthy donors or everyone else--is finding its way into debates over the best way to fix the economy and whether campaign contributions and lobbying by the financial sector had anything to do with today's economic crisis. Capital Eye takes a closer look at some of these races.

September 23, 2008 | The last time Congress seriously debated how to regulate the financial industry, the result was legislation that allowed the nation's largest banks to get even larger and take risks that had been prohibited since the Great Depression. A look back at that debate, which was over the 1999 Financial Services Modernization Act, reveals that campaign contributions may have influenced the votes of politicians who, a decade later, are now grappling with the implosion of the giant banks they helped to foster.

September 17, 2008 | The Federal Reserve announced today that it's coming to the rescue of American International Group (AIG) to the tune of $85 billion. The nation's largest insurer, which asked the Fed for emergency funding in the midst of financial hardships, hasn't had trouble over the years giving money to lawmakers, however. AIG is on CRP's Heavy Hitters list that profiles the 100 all-time contributors to federal candidates and committees.

September 15, 2008 | Wall Street's grim news has plenty of people worried about their pocketbooks. Lawmakers are among them, not only concerned with how to boost the economy but with their own personal finances tied to companies that are struggling. The richest members of Congress seem to be the most invested in the companies at the center of the Wall Street shake-up.

September 8, 2008 | As economists and analysts try to sort out how giant mortgage buyers Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac ended up needing to be bailed out by the federal government this past weekend, here at CRP we can see part of the picture of why that solution won out over others. Both Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac are prolific political players, pouring millions of dollars into campaign contributions and lobbying, efforts that have resulted in keeping the two companies afloat as more Americans have defaulted on their mortgages.

September 3, 2008 | Preparing for a general election in which he cannot collect private donations, John McCain vaulted in front of Barack Obama in fundraising from one of the biggest groups of donors in American politics: the senior set. A new analysis of the Republican nominee's summer fundraising by the nonpartisan Center for Responsive Politics has found McCain leading Obama among retired donors almost two to one in June and July, $8.1 million to $4.5 million.

August 26, 2008 | For every star-studded concert and poker tournament when the sun goes down over the Rockies, there are dozens of mundane corporate events during the day that resemble what goes on in Washington nearly every other day of the year. Such was the scene Tuesday at a daytime event sponsored by the Financial Services Roundtable, an influential alliance of the nation's biggest banks, insurers, mortgage lenders, investment advisors, credit card companies.

August 24, 2008 | There is an emboldened breed of politician strutting around Denver this week and tonight, as part of the Democratic Party's convention, multiple corporations will be throwing a late-night bash in honor of these creatures. A group of fiscally conservative Democrats known as the Blue Dog Coalition has been able to leverage centrist appeal and an increasing Democratic majority into strong gains in the House of Representatives. The group's unique appeal is evidenced in the Blue Dogs' formidable fundraising coalition.

August 23, 2008 | Now that Barack Obama has announced his running mate, reporters will be scrambling to cover every aspect of Sen. Joe Biden (D-Del.)--his politics, his personal life, what he adds to the Democrats' presidential ticket and what aspects could make him a liability for the party. At the Center for Responsive Politics, we've strung together our own observations about Biden's campaign fundraising and personal finances.

August 21, 2008 | There are more than 400 opportunities for attendees of the upcoming Democratic and Republican national conventions to party with their party. But if you're a member of Congress, partaking comes with pitfalls. For lawmakers, here's a guide of do's and don't's if you want to meticulously follow the new ethics rules. Just do these things and you've forever broken the ties that formerly bound you to special interests.

August 20, 2008 | In some ways, it's advantageous for John McCain to point out the ways he differs with the current president. But, financially, McCain's differences with President Bush haven't entirely helped him. Bloomberg used data from CRP recently to analyze the industries that played a pivotal role in financing Bush's re-election race in 2004 but that are backing Barack Obama this time around.

August 7, 2008 | Coal and nuclear power are the biggest sources of electricity in the U.S., accounting for roughly 70 percent of the nation's electricity. While producers of both sources believe that the country needs a well-balanced fuel portfolio, both industries are seeking an advantage by spending their fair share on campaign contributions and lobbying this election cycle, reminding those in Congress of their integral role in keeping the lights on.

July 31, 2008 | While this year's own battle over offshore drilling for oil has largely been a skirmish between the deep-pocketed oil and gas industry and grassroots environmentalists, senators along the coast in particular have to pay attention to an additional industry that's a player on Capitol Hill: tourism.

July 24, 2008 | The long and winding road to work has become more costly than ever before, but it's also forcing drivers to explore other ways of getting around. From bikes to buses, Americans are starting to spend more time using other modes of transportation instead of in their gas-guzzling cars. These alternative industries, which may have been largely ignored in the past, are getting a greater deal of attention from consumers at home, as well as from lawmakers on Capitol Hill.

July 14, 2008 | Some relief seems to be on the way for Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, the two struggling mortgage buyers--and major campaign contributors--that have suffered staggering losses as more Americans default on their mortgages.

July 10, 2008 | Industries across the board have a stake in the outcome of energy legislation, either because they are looking for handouts or trying to minimize harm. Capital Eye profiles the major players, their concerns and the money they're spending to be heard on Capitol Hill.

June 26, 2008 | The marriage vow "for richer or poorer" is more than a promise between two people when one of those people is a member of Congress. When lawmakers and their spouses utter those words, they're agreeing to reveal to the world the scope of how rich or poor they may be.

May 22, 2008 | Pain at the pump has kept skyrocketing gas prices in the public spotlight, and there was no shortage of press coverage for yesterday's congressional testimony from oil and gas executives. Several newspapers used CRP data to put in context the industry's financial relationship with Congress--especially with members who serve on the Senate Judiciary Committee, which held the hearing.

May 22, 2008 | A new poll from the Onion News Network has produced some shocking results: corporate lobbyists are dissatisfied with Congress after being neglected by lawmakers for years. They're fed up with dishing out millions and millions of dollars with no legislative return, they're fed up with politicians breaking their promises and, dangit, they're fed up with their corporate sponsorship being taken for granted.

May 15, 2008 | Sometimes all it takes to be the coolest kid on the block is throwing the best party--at least that's what the more than 50 corporations that signed up to underwrite the biggest Democratic bash of the year are banking on.

March 20, 2008 | The federal government's interest in the plight of investment and commercial banks is driven by the urgency of securing the U.S. economy, but the close ties between Wall Street and Washington may hint at other motives for lending a hand to these struggling financial institutions. The employees and political action committees of these firms bankroll federal campaigns like few other companies; the securities and investment industry ranks third among all industries in contributing to candidates and parties this election cycle, giving $71.5 million, with 60 percent to Democrats.

February 5, 2008 | In October, Michelle Obama took a trip to England to host a fundraiser for her husband, Democratic candidate Barack Obama. Former president Bill Clinton also visited England, in addition to Ireland, in the last three months of the year to campaign for his wife, Hillary Clinton.

December 6, 2007 | Lobbyists do represent ordinary Americans, as Hillary Clinton claims, but those contributing to her campaign mostly represent big industries, the Center for Responsive Politics finds. Obama and Edwards eschew lobbyists' money, but their biggest contributors still lobby in Washington.

November 1, 2007 | Exclusive analysis finds lawyers are still the biggest givers to candidates for the White House, but retired contributors have edged out Wall Street. A year before '08 election, Democrats have the edge in nearly every major industry.

April 18, 2007 | New, exclusive analysis on OpenSecrets.org finds attorneys have given candidates the most, but Wall Street's biggest firms top all other companies. Candidates have relied on their personal connections for early fundraising.

April 7, 2007 | New leadership in the 110th Congress means newfound influence for interests friendly to Democrats By Miranda Blue and Lindsay Renick Mayer January 04, 2007 | With the changing of the guard on Capitol Hill comes a shift in lobbying efforts. In December, the Republican-led 109th Congress closed with a late-night flurry of bills to appease…

February 28, 2007 | This year’s Oscar nominees weren’t especially active political givers in the last election cycle, but the larger entertainment industry was. By Lindsay Renick Mayer February 28, 2007 | (This story has been corrected to reflect Martin Scorsese’s best director win for “The Departed,” as well as the director’s political contributions.) Academy Awards acceptance speeches have…

February 22, 2007 | The earliest candidates for president would have a hard time imagining a $1 billion campaign. By Lindsay Renick Mayer February 22, 2007 | It’s a scene that George Washington couldn’t possibly have envisioned in 1789: Presidential candidates entering the race with millions of dollars in the bank, Hollywood parties bagging $1.3 million for a single…

October 23, 2006 | Without cash to spread their message, independent and third-party challengers once again struggle to compete against Democrats and Republicans. By Lindsay Renick Mayer October 23, 2006 | Three-term senator Joe Lieberman finds himself as a third-party candidate in Connecticut this year. He has raised at least $15 million. Todd Chretien is also an independent running…

July 24, 2006 | Profiles of the five metro areas vying to host—and finance—the multi-day gatherings that open the home stretch of the race for the White House. By Neil Tambe July 24, 2006 | (1/11/07 UPDATE: The Democrats have chosen Denver to be the site of their 2008 convention. The Republicans announced in September 2006 that they will…

May 30, 2006 | Goldman Sachs CEO Hank Paulson has contributed generously to Republicans—more than outgoing secretary John Snow. Paulson’s wife and employees favor Democrats, however. By Massie Ritsch and Neil Tambe May 30, 2006 | In nominating Goldman Sachs CEO Hank Paulson to be the next Secretary of the Treasury, President Bush tapped a major Republican donor who…

April 7, 2006 | What do magazine publishers, a railroad and Microsoft have in common with Indian tribes? They were all clients of lobbyist Jack Abramoff, the central figure in the corruption scandal unfolding in Washington. And during the time Abramoff represented them, they all made campaign contributions to members of Congress and President Bush.

March 30, 2006 | New analysis tallies contributions and lobbying by the disgraced lobbyist’s full client list. How much of the money, as Sen. Frist said, is ‘tainted’? ____________________ When Jack Abramoff pleaded guilty in January to corruption charges, politicians rushed to dump contributions they had received from the high-flying lobbyist and the Indian tribes he admitted defrauding. The…

March 23, 2006 | GOP activists favor these candidates for the White House in 2008. But who will the money follow? By Courtney Mabeus March 23, 2006 | Republican Party leaders and activists gathered in Tennessee this month, and in a straw poll anointed native son Bill Frist as their chosen one to run for president in 2008. The…

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